Do You Need Financial Resources To Start or Grow Your Small Business?

Learn More About Our Unique Program For Women Entrepreneurs

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Grameen America is a nonprofit microfinance organization that provides small loans as capital to help women build income-generating activities.

Do I qualify to join Grameen America?

Do you have goals to start or grow a small business? Here are the requirements to join the program.

1. Live in or nearby one of Grameen America’s branch locations across the United States. (See the full list of Grameen America branch locations below).

2. Form a group of four other women entrepreneurs in your community that you know and trust. If you already know a group that is part of Grameen America, you can be referred by one of the existing members to join their group.

3. Participate in a week of training to learn about the program and loan requirements.

4. Attend weekly meetings once a week at a specified 30-minute time to make loan repayments, continue receiving financial education, and build your peer networks.

5. Commit to repaying your loan on time in weekly installments. The amount and due date are based on your loan size. All loans are on a six-month term.

6. Work hard and invest your loan to grow your business. Our first-time loan is between $500 and $2,500 and every six months, depending on your record and support from your center, you will have the opportunity to receive larger loans.

Microloans

Member receives microloan to start and build small business. With a microloan, members can increase their income and, quite likely, create jobs in their communities.

Asset Building

We are committed to helping our members establish savings to build financial resilience. We are currently working on piloting a national savings program to provide members with innovative savings solutions.

Credit Building

Members build and improve credit history based on microloan repayment performance, which are reported by Grameen America to credit bureaus.

Education

Members receive basic training and financial education to improve their financial literacy and awareness.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Grameen America?

Grameen America is the fastest growing nonprofit microfinance organization in the United States with a proven national solution to advance financial inclusion for women. We provide small loans, training and support to women to help them build businesses, achieve higher family incomes and revitalize their communities.

Why is Grameen America different?

• No collateral or credit history is required for a loan

• Upon repayment, individuals can apply for loans at increasing amounts

• Grameen America uses a group lending process with five members in each group, which enables members to share solutions to business challenges, identify opportunities for sales growth, and provide each other with support and encouragement

What are the loan terms?

• No application fees

• Annual percentage rate of 18% on a declining balance

• A six-month loan term