Sometimes called “banking for the poor,” microfinance uses very small loans (usually less than $200) to enable people to escape poverty by starting, establishing, and expanding small businesses. Grameen Foundation is a microfinance institution (MFI) that uses microloans and innovative technology to fight global poverty and bring economic opportunity to some of the world’s poorest areas. Grameen Foundation’s Technology Center used a $300,000 grant from Cisco to establish the Mifos Initiative, a software platform designed to help MFIs manage their clients, portfolios, and reporting needs. This platform allows these organizations to cut costs by using locally based development and support services to assist them in customizing their technology. Grameen plans to continue to encourage adoption of the platform and add new functionality. Toward this end, Cisco Foundation is funding Grameen with a $611,000 grant that will help make Mifos software easier to deploy and scale it to serve more institutions and clients. By the end of the grant period, it is expected that Mifos deployments will be under way or completed at nine MFIs, potentially reaching 250,000 clients. |
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