Grameen Bank

What Grameen Bank does

Grameen Bank is a Bangladesh-headquartered, non-profit private microfinance institution founded in 1983 by Muhammad Yunus to provide collateral-free credit to impoverished households, particularly women in rural areas. Its core products include microfinance loans, housing loans, and special loans, distributed primarily through a group-lending model in which small cohorts of borrowers guarantee each other's repayment, enabling access to formal credit for populations excluded from the conventional banking system. The institution is structurally distinctive: borrowers own 94% of shares and the Government of Bangladesh owns the remaining 6%, making it one of the largest borrower-owned financial institutions globally.

The bank competes in a global micro-lending market valued at USD 175.27B in 2025 and projected to reach USD 497.22B by 2035 at a 10.99% CAGR, alongside competitors including BRAC, Kiva, Bajaj Finserv, and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank. Its most significant intangible asset is the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to founder Muhammad Yunus, which established Grameen Bank as the recognized originator of modern microfinance and conferred substantial brand and reputational capital. Operationally, Grameen runs a workforce of 10,000+ employees servicing its Bangladesh borrower base.

Underwriting at Grameen has historically relied on group accountability and field-officer relationships, but the bank has begun deploying AI-based credit scoring systems that process structured financial data to assess borrower risk. This represents a technology overlay on the existing lending stack rather than a wholesale pivot. Revenue mechanics are not separately disclosed and depend on net interest margin from the loan book plus any fees on housing and special loans, with no public pricing schedule available in the input data.

Name

Grameen Bank

Legal name

Grameen Bank

Website

https://grameenbank.org.bd

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Grameen Bank is a Bangladesh-based, non-profit microfinance institution founded in 1983 by Muhammad Yunus, providing collateral-free micro, housing, and special loans to impoverished rural borrowers through group-lending and AI-assisted credit scoring.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Microfinance Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (522110)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Microloans & Working Capital Loans (FSAKAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Microenterprise Group Lending (Joint Liability) (FSAKAGAH), Agricultural & Rural Microfinance (FSAKAGAG), Secured Microloans (Community/Nonprofit, Collateralized) (FSAKALAJ)

Keywords

• Microfinance services
• Microcredit lending
• Housing loans
• Financial inclusion
• Poverty alleviation lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Dhaka

HQ country

Bangladesh

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Core offering

Grameen Bank is a Bangladesh-based microfinance institution that provides microcredit, housing loans, and special loans to poor and underserved populations, especially women. It extends small collateral-free loans to borrowers excluded from the traditional banking system, using AI-based credit scoring to assess creditworthiness and repayment risk, and operates under a unique borrower-owned governance structure.

Product overview

Grameen Bank is a micro lending organization that advances financial inclusion through digital platforms. The company provides microcredit and microfinance services, utilizing AI-based credit scoring to assess borrower creditworthiness and expand access to financial services for underserved populations. The organization operates within the broader micro lending market, competing alongside other financial inclusion initiatives such as those by BRAC, Kiva, Bajaj Finserv, and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Microfinance / Microcredit Services Small collateral-free loans extended to poor and underserved borrowers, particularly women, for income-generating activities, housing, and emergency needs; the foundational offering of Grameen Bank's microfinance model.
• Housing Loan

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• BRAC: BRAC is one of the world's largest microfinance institutions and is specifically named alongside Grameen Bank as a leading micro lender. Both are Bangladesh-rooted and serve low-income borrowers with microcredit, making BRAC the most directly comparable peer.
• Kiva: Kiva is explicitly cited as a peer micro lender alongside Grameen Bank. It operates a crowd-funded microfinance platform globally, sharing the same end-customer segment (underserved borrowers) and financial inclusion mission.
• ASA (Association for Social Advancement): ASA is one of the largest microfinance NGOs in Bangladesh alongside Grameen Bank. It serves the same low-income Bangladeshi borrowers with microcredit, making it a highly direct regional competitor.
• Spandana Sphoorty Financial: Spandana Sphoorty is a major Indian microfinance institution serving low-income borrowers with group and individual loans. It compares to Grameen on product (microcredit) and customer (underserved borrowers) but operates in India rather than Bangladesh.
• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank: Ujjivan is named as a peer of Grameen Bank in the micro lending market. It is an Indian small finance bank serving underserved borrowers with microcredit and savings products, closely aligned with Grameen's product set and target market.

Others

• Accion: Accion is a global nonprofit focused on financial inclusion that invests in and supports microfinance institutions. While not a direct competitor, it shapes the same ecosystem as Grameen Bank and is a relevant comparator for impact and partnership models.

Broad incumbents

• Bajaj Finserv: Bajaj Finserv is named alongside Grameen Bank as a leading micro lending player. As a large diversified Indian financial services group, it offers microfinance and consumer lending as part of a much broader portfolio, making it a broad incumbent rather than a pure-play micro lender.

Emerging players

• Opportunity International: Opportunity International is a global microfinance and small-business lending organization operating across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Its mission and product set directly mirror Grameen's financial inclusion focus, serving similar underserved borrowers.
• Bandhan Bank: Bandhan started as a microfinance NGO and converted to a universal bank; it overlaps with Grameen's microcredit heritage and now serves a broader retail/small-business customer base in India. Comparable on target borrower and product overlap.

Regional players

• Banco Compartamos: Banco Compartamos is a leading Latin American microfinance bank that pioneered commercial microfinance. It is structurally comparable to Grameen's group-lending model but operates in a different geography (Mexico/Latin America).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/grameenbank
• Facebookfacebook.com/grameenbank24
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grameenbankbd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grameen Bank