Grameen America Announces Plan to Invest $40 Billion of Capital in Underserved Women Entrepreneurs by 2033
Launching $600 million campaign to support over 750,000 women-owned businesses in 70 locations across the United States
NEW YORK, NY, April 11, 2024 – Grameen America, a leading microfinance organization, has launched a campaign aimed at raising $600 million in capital over the next five years to enable the organization to significantly scale its innovative approach to addressing economic inequity over the next decade.
The initiative, named “Women Are Limitless: Accelerating Inclusive Growth and Impact,” aims to put in place over $1 billion in investment capital, with $300 million raised through philanthropy, $300 million secured in the form of debt capital, and the remainder will be generated internally from interest income and reinvested into the program and communities. This $1 billion in investment capital would position Grameen America to allocate $40 billion towards empowering entrepreneurial women, expanding its reach fourfold to positively impacting the lives of 750,000 women across under-resourced communities in the United States over the next 10 years.
Grameen America’s impactful program offers microloans, peer networking, asset- and credit-building services, and financial, business and health education. The organization’s unique model is designed to address the specific needs of under-resourced women, reaching populations excluded by other lenders and hiring on-the-ground staff from the communities it serves.
To date, Grameen America has disbursed over $4 billion in loan capital to nearly 190,000 financially underserved women across 27 U.S. cities. The organization's impact has been validated in a rigorous study demonstrating increases in credit scores, savings, and growth in business ownership, in addition to reductions in material hardship, among program participants.
The Women Are Limitless campaign’s priorities are:
Expanding Access: Grameen America will broaden access to affordable financial services in underserved communities, with a commitment to doubling the number of communities served, reaching four times the number of women, and investing 10 times the amount of capital over the next decade.
Deepening Impact: Grameen America plans to continue to enhance its programming to improve outcomes by moving its members from financial stability to true upward economic mobility.
Promoting Systems Change: The organization will leverage its data and insights to influence the broader financial system toward comprehensive economic inclusion.
Investing for Scale: Grameen America will strengthen its technology, enhance its data capabilities and infrastructure, and make substantial investments in human capital to achieve its goals.
Blue Meridian Partners, a pioneering philanthropic model for finding and funding scalable solutions to problems that limit economic and social mobility for individuals and families in the U.S., has committed $85 million as a seed investment — the largest initial scaling investment the organization has ever made to any single organization to date. This substantial commitment comprises a $50 million grant alongside $35 million in a non-interest bearing loan.
“This $1 billion initiative will advance Grameen America’s powerful work to break barriers, amplify voices, and create a future where the economic potential of every woman is truly limitless,” said Andrea Jung, President and CEO of Grameen America. “Blue Meridian Partners’ investment speaks volumes about their understanding of our organization’s strategic and socially impactful investments. We thank them for this major new commitment, which underscores Grameen America’s effectiveness and the importance of our plan to scale our model with unprecedented momentum.”
“Blue Meridian Partners is committed to accelerating evidence-based solutions on a national scale, addressing barriers to economic mobility for young people and families head-on,” said Spencer Kympton, Managing Director and Portfolio Lead at Blue Meridian Partners. “Our decision to invest significantly in the Women Are Limitless campaign is a testament to Grameen America’s proven track record of catalyzing economic mobility in underserved communities, and their compelling plan to impact over 750,000 women entrepreneurs nationwide. Through this seed investment, Grameen America is poised to leverage its leadership in the microfinance space to meaningfully drive socio-economic empowerment and inclusivity.”
Closing the gap in average revenues between women- and men-owned businesses has the potential of generating $7.9 trillion in additional revenue to the nation’s economy, according to a new report. Since 2008, Grameen America has focused on addressing the urgent need to address systemic lending gaps experienced by women in the U.S., especially those from underrepresented communities. The organization has redefined the way the financial industry evaluates creditworthiness, boasting an impressive 99% loan repayment rate. The organization’s unique social capital model ensures funds invested in underserved communities are repaid and further reinvested to maximize impact at scale.
Prospective collaborators are invited to contribute their support, enhancing the impact of this initiative and channeling needed financial resources to under-resourced communities across the country.
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For more information on The Campaign or how to join us, please email donations@grameenamerica.org
If you are an entrepreneur interested in joining the Grameen America microloan program, please visit https://www.grameenamerica.org/request-a-loan
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