August 26, 2010
Sabrina Quaraishi is Client Relations Manager for Grameen Foundation's Bankers Without Borders® program.
We are very excited to launch the Bankers without Borders Alliance Program as a way to utilize the increasing number of skilled volunteers who join our program to donate their time and skills in the space of microfinance and technology for the poor and at the same time serve the various needs of microfinance institutions and other organizations serving the world’s poor.
Harvard & Haas Business School students working on a BwB volunteer project.
To expand volunteerism in the microfinance and technology-for development sectors, Bankers without Borders, an initiative of Grameen Foundation announced the availability of US$150,000 in seed capital to microfinance associations and other pro-poor organizations interested in expanding Bankers without Borders volunteer services to Asia and the Americas.
Presented by J.P. Morgan, the Bankers without Borders Alliance Program aims to establish a global network of local organizations who can help identify and scope volunteer projects that can benefit from the pro bono services of the more than 4,500 skilled business professionals from around the world willing to donate their time and expertise to help microfinance and technology organizations improve their scale, sustainability, and impact. This first round of competition will focus in Asia and the Americas. Future rounds of funding will focus on expanding the program in Africa and the Middle East.
A formal request for proposals both in English and Spanish can be found at //www.bankerswithoutborders.com/mfis-networks. The deadline for submission is September 30, 2010. Selected organizations will be announced in November 2010.
For those organizations interested in applying to join the Alliance program, Bankers without Borders will hold two technical assistance conference calls:
For LAC Applicants (Presentation in Spanish)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
11am-12am US EST
Call-in Details:
Conference Call in Number: 1-404-920-6650
Participant code: 21285456#
For Asia Applicants (Presentation in English)
Stay tuned for our next Asia technical call. Please check back with us at //www.bankerswithoutborders.com/mfis-networks for details on our next call.