Microloans for Development - The Myth and the Reality
There is nothing new about the exploitation of the weak and vulnerable by the wealthy and the powerful, but the sheer scale of destruction wrought by microfinance institutions modelled on Grameen Bank of Dr Mohammed Yunus in what was originally hailed as a development masterpiece - was staggering. Commercialised copycat banks provided microloans at mega interest rates to the poor and destitute with the intention of starting businesses. The Grameen Bank founder received the Nobel prize in 2006 and in "development circles", the project was hailed as a success, but nothing could be further from the truth. Grameen Bank has an apparently extremely relaxed approach to the no-interest loans they disburse and it apparently has extremely low default rates - or so it says. The problem is, that in Bangladesh, where Grameen covers 98% of villages in that country, the plight of the desperate rural poor have become worse, many have poor mortgaged land and limb, and lost. Yunus' loa...