Grameen Foundation
Grameen Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1997 that uses mobile agent networks, digital platforms, and partner organizations to deliver financial inclusion, climate-smart agriculture, and economic empowerment programs for women and families across 17 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Grameen Foundation does
Grameen Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1997 by Alex Counts to advance Professor Muhammad Yunus's microfinance vision as a global poverty alleviation strategy. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with regional operations in India and the Philippines and field presence across 17 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands, the organization targets women and families in underserved rural communities. Its core service offerings operate under the proprietary Holistic Economic Resilience (HER) Framework, which integrates community agent networks (635,000+ female mobile agents, Grameen Mittras), Village Savings and Loan Associations digitized through the LedgerLink platform, Farmer Producer Organizations supported via the Digital Farming Platform, and tailored programs including AccelHERate (youth livelihoods), InvestHER (women entrepreneurs), TogetHER We Grow (women farmers), Program SAFE (financial abuse prevention), and Sparks for Change (household engagement).
The organization's technology stack includes satellite-enabled farm analytics (SAT4Farming), AI and AR financial literacy applications developed with Accenture Labs India, the MOTECH mobile health platform used in Ebola vaccine deployment, blockchain-based cash transfer systems via Celo, and digital tools like TaroWorks for field operations. Underlying infrastructure also encompasses subsidiaries Grameen Capital India and Grameen Impact Investment India, which provide financial advisory and non-bank financing to social enterprises in India.
Grameen Foundation is funded through a diversified base of foundation grants, corporate donations, and individual contributions. Major institutional supporters include Walmart Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, JPMorgan, and USAID. Donor-facing programs are structured around tiered recurring gifts (e.g., $10/month for AccelHERate, $84/month or $1,000 for InvestHER, $100/month for TogetHER We Grow). Since the 2016 merger with Freedom from Hunger, the organization reports impacting 29 million people, with a stated 2030 goal of moving 10 million women and families out of poverty. In November 2025, Grameen Foundation announced a strategic Alliance with Yunus Social Business, consolidating organizational leadership under a Global CEO structure with India as the hub.
Grameen Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Grameen Foundation
- Legal name
- Grameen Foundation USA
- Website
- https://grameenfoundation.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Grameen Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1997 that uses mobile agent networks, digital platforms, and partner organizations to deliver financial inclusion, climate-smart agriculture, and economic empowerment programs for women and families across 17 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Grameen Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- International Development & Financial Inclusion Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)
Keywords
Where Grameen Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Grameen Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Foundation Grants and Donations: Grameen Foundation operates primarily as a nonprofit organization funded by foundation grants, corporate donations, and individual contributions. Major funders include Walmart Foundation, Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, JP Morgan, USAID, and others. The organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with Fed Tax ID 73-1502797.
- Impact Investing: Grameen Foundation makes capital market investments in companies, funds, and joint ventures to create capital for social enterprises. This includes Grameen Capital India and Grameen Impact Investment India, which provide financing to microfinance institutions and social enterprises.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | $10/month supports one young woman with tools and resources to move over the poverty line |
| Subscription | Monthly | $1,000 USD or $84/month enables entrepreneurs with education, skills, and access to finance |
| Subscription | Monthly | $100/month enables women farmers with tools, equipment, resources, and climate-mitigation technology |
| One time/ perpetual license | Monthly | $10 enables one spark for change |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Grameen Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Grameen Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that enables the poor, especially women, to create a world without poverty and hunger. It operates programs and digital platforms that connect women and families to financial services, training, and resources; supports a network of more than 635,000 mobile agents and community organizations; and channels grants from foundations, governments, and corporations to deliver field programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific.
Product overview
Grameen Foundation operates as a non-profit organization with a portfolio of interconnected programs designed to alleviate poverty and hunger by empowering women. The core offerings include: AccelHERate (supporting young women through mobile money agent opportunities), InvestHER (supporting women entrepreneurs via the LedgerLink digital platform), TogetHER We Grow (supporting women farmers with climate-smart agriculture through the MANDI initiative and Digital Farming Platform), Program SAFE (safeguarding women from financial abuse), Sparks for Change (household engagement programs), and Grameen Mittra (community agent networks). Supporting infrastructure includes Bankers without Borders volunteer network, Grameen Capital India and Grameen Impact Investment India subsidiaries, and the MOTECH mobile health platform. These programs are designed to work together under the Holistic Economic Resilience (HER) Framework to move 10 million women and their families out of poverty by 2030.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bankers without Borders (BwB): Grameen Foundation's executive volunteer initiative launched in 2008 that connects business professionals, academics, and students from around the world as volunteers with high-potential social enterprises and nonprofits. Has grown to over 26,500 volunteers from 170+ countries.
- Grameen Mittra
- AccelHERate
- InvestHER
- TogetHER, We Grow
- Program SAFE
- Sparks for Change
- LedgerLink
Products and services
- AccelHERate
- InvestHER
- TogetHER, We Grow
- Program SAFE
- Sparks for Change
- MANDI (Market Access eNabled by Digital Innovation)
- Bankers without Borders (BwB)
- Grameen Capital India
- Grameen Impact Investment India
- LedgerLink
- Digital Farming Platform
- MOTECH
- Grameen Mittra / Community Agent Network (CAN)
- WomenLink
- SAT4Farming
- Conectadas Digital Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- 29 million people directly impacted since 2016 merger
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use Grameen Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Grameen Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
AI capability7 records
Feature6 records
Grameen Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Yunus Social BusinesscoreStrategic Alliance uniting Grameen Foundation and Yunus Social Business to accelerate sustainable solutions to poverty and hunger. Combines GF's nearly three decades of investing in women farmers and entrepreneurs with YSB's pioneering work in social business investment. Will scale inclusive finance, agribusiness initiatives, and innovative agricultural solutions with global presence and locally led leadership.
- Rabo FoundationcoreCopra Capacity Development Project to strengthen five agricultural copra cooperatives in Davao Region, equipping them to become 'investment-ready' entities. Focus on building organizational strength, enhancing business capacity, and supporting local cooperatives.
- Barry CallebautcoreFive-year Sustainable Coconut Project in Davao region of Philippines, designed to improve 25,000 smallholder farmers' copra production and incomes and connect them to markets while ensuring positive social and environmental impacts. Funded by Barry Callebaut in support of its Sustainable Coconut Oil Strategy.
- Celo FoundationminorAlliance for Prosperity to build financial tools for smartphone owners, with Grameen Foundation among 50 initial member organizations.
- CelocoreBlockchain-enabled cash support and training program (Social Dividend Campaign) for 800 Filipino workers hit hardest by COVID-19, leveraging Celo's blockchain technology for emergency relief distribution.
- Accenture Labs IndiacoreDevelopment of AI and AR tools to help increase adoption of financial services among low-income women, including Emotional Analytics for Social Enterprises and Grameen Guru.
- Rainforest AlliancecoreSAT4Farming consortium bringing satellite technology to benefit smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana, aiming to help 240,000 farmers increase yields by up to 300%.
- Grameen Capital IndiacoreFinancial advisory firm helping socially focused organizations in India obtain capital to grow and reach more clients. Current shareholders include L&T Finance, Grameen Foundation, and Citicorp Finance.
- Grameen Impact Investment IndiacoreNon-bank financial institution backed by Grameen Capital India, providing financing to high impact social enterprises in India including financial services, affordable healthcare, affordable education, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture.
- HarvestPlus / GAINminorPartnership to increase food, nutrition, and livelihoods security through production, consumption, and marketing of conventionally bred biofortified crops in India.
- PaytmminorPartnership to provide job-oriented training to rural women and youth to help increase financial literacy and inclusion in India.
- Millicom / TigominorConectadas platform for digital skilling and inclusion of women and girls in Latin America, with over 560,000 women trained through the program.
- World Food ProgrammeminorJoint commitment to advance financial inclusion of persons with disabilities at Global Disability Summit 2025.
- OikoCreditminorVirtual event partnership on state of health financial and non-financial services in Latin America.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Grameen Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BRAC: One of the world's largest development NGOs, also originating in Bangladesh with deep microfinance and women's empowerment programs targeting the ultra-poor; directly comparable in mission, scale, and microfinance heritage to Grameen Foundation.
- Opportunity International: Global microfinance organization providing financial services to people in poverty; comparable mission and target population to Grameen's Community Agent and InvestHER programs.
- FINCA International: Microfinance and social enterprise network serving low-income entrepreneurs across Africa, Asia, and Latin America; comparable financial inclusion mission and Village Banking model.
- Kiva: Crowdfunding microfinance platform enabling individuals to lend to underserved entrepreneurs globally; comparable financial inclusion mission and tech-enabled distribution model.
- Accion: Global nonprofit committed to financial inclusion through responsible lending and innovation; comparable focus on financial services for the underbanked and emerging-market distribution models.
- Heifer International: Poverty and hunger-focused nonprofit working with smallholder farmers through sustainable agriculture and livestock value chains; closely comparable to Grameen's TogetHER We Grow and SAT4Farming programs.
- Yunus Social Business: Social business-focused organization co-founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus that incubated and invested in social enterprises; directly comparable mission and now formally allied with Grameen Foundation.
Broad incumbents
- CARE: Large international humanitarian NGO fighting global poverty with a strong focus on women and girls; broader portfolio than Grameen but overlapping in financial inclusion, agriculture, and women's empowerment themes.
- Mercy Corps: Global humanitarian and development organization working in fragile markets with programs in financial inclusion, agriculture, and economic recovery; broader geographic and thematic scope but overlapping target customers.
Emerging players
- Acumen: Impact investor using philanthropic capital to build early-stage companies serving the poor; comparable in mission to Grameen Impact Investment India and YSB's blended-finance approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Grameen Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceGrameen Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Grameen Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Grameen Foundation subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Grameen Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Grameen Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Grameen Foundation
What does Grameen Foundation do?
Grameen Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that enables the poor, especially women, to create a world without poverty and hunger. It operates programs and digital platforms that connect women and families to financial services, training, and resources; supports a network of more than 635,000 mobile agents and community organizations; and channels grants from foundations, governments, and corporations to deliver field programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific.
Is Grameen Foundation a public or private company?
Grameen Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Grameen Foundation founded?
Grameen Foundation was founded in 1997. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Grameen Foundation based?
Grameen Foundation is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Grameen Foundation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Foundation Grants and Donations are the primary driver. The others are impact Investing.
Who are Grameen Foundation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BRAC, Opportunity International, FINCA International, Kiva, Accion, Heifer International and Yunus Social Business. Broad incumbents are CARE and Mercy Corps. Acumen is listed as an emerging player.
Does Grameen Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Grameen Foundation.
What industry is Grameen Foundation in?
Grameen Foundation's product category is International Development & Financial Inclusion Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAH, International Grantmaking & Development Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAA, Private Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8300.