SIAO, Kristan Mario B.

March 6, 2021
BS IE -2 Social Entrep
TOA: Reflection on Grameen Bank

A. Narration

Grameen Bank, unlike other conventional banks, is a bank with a collateral-free system. In here,
they believe that credit should be accepted as a human right. The bank highly prioritizes those
who do not possess much for loans. Unlike every typical bank, Grameen bank believes that every
single person all deserve to have their potentials honed, whether rich or poor.

B. Findings

After reading more into the Grameen bank system, I was able to find out that 97 percent of the
bank’s borrowers are women. Significantly, the bank gives high priority to women, specifically of
poor background. The banks are located in rural areas, and there are no legal instrument
between the lender and the borrower in the bank’s methodology. It is also important to note
that in Grameen’s system, the total interest of a loan cannot exceed the amount of the loan,
regardless of how long it takes the borrower to repay the loan.

C. Conclusion

Overall, I do believe that there are truly good people out there who are trying to create change
for the better. I think that it is applaudable for the founders of Grameen Bank to have created
such an environment wherein the poor and the marginalized are given the opportunity to achieve
their dreams as well. Grameen Bank is a true exemplar of how social entrepreneurship should be
practiced – helping the society while making a living out of it at the same time.

D. Recommendations
Having read the methodologies and how the bank works, I would only suggest for the bank to
make sure that the borrowers should have to specify their reason for borrowing such loan. In the
bank’s rules, they are allowed to get a loan without disclosing their reasons as to why they are
getting one. Furthermore, I would also suggest that the bank branch out to other neighboring
3rd-world countries such as India, Nepal, Philippines, etc. This way, they could potentially spread
the same ideologies to other countries.