October 16, 2011
Alex Counts is president, CEO and founder of Grameen Foundation, and author of several books, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance are Changing the World.
September 08, 2011
Alex Counts is president, CEO and founder of Grameen Foundation, and author of several books, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance are Changing the World.
August 28, 2011
Alex Counts is president, CEO and founder of Grameen Foundation, and author of several books, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance Are Changing the World. Recently I had the pleasure of visiting our sister organization, Grameen America, which has been providing microfinance services to low-income, mostly Hispanic clients in New York since 2008, and has since opened branches in Omaha an
August 24, 2011
Professor Muhammad Yunus recently paid a visit to Grameen Foundation headquarters, meeting with leaders and speaking to staff (as well as to staff from RESULTS) during a visit to Washington, DC. Todd Bernhardt, Grameen Foundation’s Director of Marketing and Communications, was part of an audience who listened to Professor Muhammad Yunus speak, and provides this update on his recent activities.
July 08, 2011
Alex Counts is president, CEO and founder of Grameen Foundation, and author of several books, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance are Changing the World.
June 22, 2011
Grameen Foundation founder, President and CEO Alex Counts is in the beginning phase of working on a new book on microfinance in Haiti, focusing in particular on the country's best-known microfinance institution, Fonkoze.
May 13, 2011
Statement from Alex Counts, President and CEO of Grameen Foundation, on the resignation of microfinance pioneer Professor Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of Grameen Bank.
April 29, 2011
Alex Counts is president, CEO and founder of Grameen Foundation, and author of several books, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance are Changing the World. The ongoing saga of the confrontation between the Bangladesh government and its allies in the local media on the one hand, and Professor Yunus, the Grameen Bank and its 8.3 million borrower-owners on the other, has taken some surpris
April 26, 2011
Smita Satiani is a guest blogger who attended Grameen Foundation’s Spring 2011 Gala on April 5, 2011. She currently works for the Clinton Foundation’s Economic Opportunity Initiative in Harlem, New York.
Grameen Foundation’s Spring 2011 Gala was held at 583 Park Avenue in New York City, and I was grateful to have the experience of attending such an inspirational and eye-opening event. The evening kicked off with a moving video message from Nobel Peace Laureate and Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus, who electrified the room and opened the door to a night of ideas, knowledge sharing, and stories of success from around the globe.
After being treated to live entertainment from Ballet D’Afrique Djoniba, guests enjoyed messages from Paul Maritz, CEO of VMware and Chairman of Grameen Foundation’s Board of Directors, and Grameen Foundation President and CEO Alex Counts, both of whom illustrated their strong passion for microfinance and providing opportunities for individuals to escape poverty across the world. The Foundation also honored shoe designer Christian Louboutin for his “Peace of Shoe,” a limited-edition creation designed to benefit microfinance. (Grameen Foundation is a charity of choice for Christian Louboutin and received substantial funding through this promotion.) And Margaret Sirovatka, Vice President for J.P. Morgan’s Global Trade Advisory, gave a riveting personal account about her experiences as a volunteer in Tunisia for Grameen Foundation’s Bankers without Borders® program.
[caption id="attachment_1616" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Paul Maritz, CEO of VMware and Chairman of Grameen Foundation's Board of Directors, talked to guests about the power of the "double bottom line" for microfinance institutions, and how Grameen Foundation's Progress out of Poverty Index enables them to measure how well they are meeting their social goals"]
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The final remarks of the evening were from Dolores Torres, President and CEO of CARD Bank, located in the Philippines. Initially formed as a replica of Grameen Bank, CARD is now the largest microfinance institution in the country. I have long believed in the work of the Grameen Foundation, but there is truly no better proof of the power of microfinance than to hear a woman like Ms. Torres speak about her successes in providing access to capital to millions of women and families in the Philippines alone.
April 04, 2011
Alex Counts is President, CEO and founder of Grameen Foundation.