Grameen Fund

Grameen Fund is a not-for-profit company in Bangladesh established by Muhammad Yunus to provide risk capital to small and medium enterprises (SME) beyond the scope of Grameen Bank's objectives of providing microcredit to the very poor.[4][5] Incorporated on 17 January 1994, Grameen Fund started operation in February 1994, inheriting 40 projects of Grameen bank with assets of 391 million Bangladeshi taka investmented in small industries, fisheries and agriculture.[6] Its lending capital is provided by Grameen Bank and other institutions like Calvert Foundation.[7] From the first Calvert Foundation investment, approximately 6,000 permanent jobs have been created or maintained in agriculture, engineering, poultry, dairy, fishery, and handicrafts sectors.[8]

Grameen Fund (GF)
Private
IndustryFinance
Founded17 January 1983 (1983-01-17) in Bangladesh
HeadquartersDhaka, Bangladesh
Area served
Bangladesh
Key people
Muhammad Yunus, chairman of the board of Grameen Fund and managing director, Grameen Bank
ProductsFinancial services
Venture capital
Revenue 24,420,213.00 BDT (2005)[1]
Total assets210,067,085.00 BDT (2005)[2]
Number of employees
25 (2005)[3]
Websitegrameen.com/grameen/gfund/index.html

As of 2007, it invested equity worth $1.0 million in 13 joint ventures and financed 1763 small and micro enterprises in Bangladesh, especially in technology-oriented industries, by providing collateral-free fixed and working capital loans.[5][9] It has provided capital loans to other Grameen family organisations including Grameen Motsho, Grameen Krishi Foundation, Grameen Uddog, Grameen Babsha Sheba Limited, Polli Dushtha Bio Centre, Gonoshasthya Grameen Textile and Grameen Securities Management Limited.[6] Till 30 August 2006, it disbursed taka 135.5 to 1257 projects in the Grameen Bank network.[10] During the fiscal year 2006, 219 loans were made for a total of US$362,174, including 216 microenterprise loans and 3 small business loans.[8] Of the micro enterprises, 21 was for minority-owned businesses, and 3 for women-owned businesses.[8]

Its stated objective is to create a mechanism to support untested business that shows promises of good return or employment generation by filling in the venture capital gap.[4][11] The four programs of the Fund are – Venture/ Equity Financing Scheme, Micro Enterprise Loan Scheme, Loan Financing, and Time Deposit Loan Scheme.[7][12]

Equity projects

Grameen Fund runs a number of ventures as private entrepreneurships, including Grameen Capital Management Limited, Grameen CyberNet Limited (GCL), Grameen Bitek Limited,[13] Grameen Solutions Limited (previously known as Grameen Software),[14] Grameen IT Park Limited (also known as DataEdge),[15] Grameen Star Education Limited[16] (which started Grameen-Daffodil IT Education Limited,[17] Grameen Knitwear Limited, GlobeKids Digital Limited, and Rafiq Autovan Manufacturing Industries Limited.[10][18]

Grameen Mutual Fund One

Grameen Mutual Fund One is a team-managed all-weather closed-end balanced mutual fund enlisted at Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchanges. Grameen Fund is the sponsor and trustee of the fund, while Standard Chartered Bank is the custodian and Asset & Investment Management Services of Bangladesh Limited (AIMS) is the asset manager.[19]

Grameen CyberNet

Grameen CyberNet Limited is an internet content, solution and service provider in Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh founded in July 1996 by Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Golam Mohiuddin, an entrepreneur promoting Apple Inc. in Bangladesh, as a joint venture between Grameen Fund, the venture capital arm of Grameen Bank, and CITech Limited, Mohiuddin's enterprise. As of August 2007, it provided a full suite of cost-effective business class network services, designed to meet the high communication service standards and evolving needs of large business to over 30,000 clients in various sectors.[11][20]

Grameen Knitwear

Grameen Knitwear Limited was established as an export-oriented composite knitwear factory, in the Export Processing Zone in Savar, Dhaka. It has knitting, dyeing, finishing and garments production facilities.[11][21][22]

See also
  • Grameen family of organisations

References
  1. Income and Expenditure Account for the year ended 31 December 2005, Audit Report (2005), Grameen Fund; Retrieved: 10 September 2007
  2. Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2005 Archived 23 February 2008 at Archive.today, Audit Report (2005), Grameen Fund; Retrieved: 10 September 2007
  3. Operational and Financial Highlights, Audit Report (2005), Grameen Fund; Retrieved: 10 September 2007
  4. Grameen Fund page on Grameen official website
  5. Grameen Fund: Profile Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Community investment Profile, Calvert Foundation; Retrieved: 4 September 2007
  6. Bangladesh: Private Sector Foundations Archived 31 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Philanthropy and the Third Sector, Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium; Retrieved: 4 September 2007
  7. Grameen Fund: Programs; Social Funds, Community Investment Center; Retrieved: 4 September 2007
  8. Grameen Fund: Impact Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Community investment Profile, Calvert Foundation; Retrieved: 4 September 2007
  9. Grameen Fund: Profile Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine; Community Investment CenterSocial Funds; Retrieved: 4 September 2007
  10. Grameen Fund Statistics Archived 1 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Grameen Fund website; Retrieved: 10 September 2007
  11. Yunus, Muhammad (25 July 2007). "Grameen Bank at a glance". Grameen Bank. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
  12. Grameen Fund: Program Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Community investment Profile, Calvert Foundation; Retrieved: 4 September 2007
  13. About Grameen Bitek
  14. Grameen Solutions website
  15. "DataEdge website". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  16. Grameen Star website Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  17. Grameen-Daffodil website
  18. Grameen Fund ventures on Grameen official website
  19. AIMS website; Retrieved: 4 September 2007
  20. "Grameen CyberNet company profile". Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  21. "Grameen Family of Enterprises". Grameen Commiunications. 19 August 2002. Archived from the original on 12 August 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
  22. "Grameen Knitwear page on Grameen official website". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
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