Grameen Foundation Launching New Initiative to Give Poor People Safe Access to Savings Accounts

Efforts will focus on microfinance institutions in Ethiopia, India and the Philippines

Grameen Foundation today announced a new initiative designed to expand safe access to formal savings accounts for poor people, especially those living on less than $1.25 per day. The Microsavings Initiative, which is supported by a $9.78 million three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will work with microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Ethiopia, India and the Philippines to test and refine models that can be used by other institutions to provide savings options for people living at the very bottom of the economic ladder.

To read the full press release, visit the Grameen Foundation web site.

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

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