50% of adults in Bangladesh do not have access to formal financial services.

We are one of the world’s largest providers of financial services operating in seven countries across Asia and Africa.

With the help of microfinance, people excluded from the formal banking system can access a suite of financial services such as loans, savings, and microinsurance products.

Microfinance facilitates families to invest in income-generating activities, build assets, smooth consumption and reduce vulnerability to health shocks and natural disasters. It also provides an alternative to high-interest loans from informal lenders, or harmful coping mechanisms such as selling productive assets.

Our range of financial services caters to various demographics in Bangladesh, such as farmers, salaried workers, micro and small entrepreneurs and migrant households. Beyond tailored loans, we also provide short and long-term savings, insurance, and access to mobile money services.

Our microfinance activities, as part of our holistic approach to development, complement our other social services, making a powerful combination for building stable, healthy, and empowered livelihoods.

87%

of the clients we serve are women.
USD3.62B

disbursed, an increase of 14% from 2016.
5.7M

borrowers, an increase of 6% from 2016.
75%

of our borrowers availed our insurance services.
 

We are the first organisation in Bangladesh, and the largest in the world, to achieve Smart Certification - signifying our commitment to client welfare.

We deliver responsible financial services that protect client rights. Our customer service assistants, located in all our branches nationwide, act as a first point of contact for any client concerns and provide pre-disbursement financial literacy training to borrowers.
 
 

CHINA AKHTER

32 years, Nawabganj

My family and I have always relied on microfinance to grow our businesses in my home town of Joypara.

I was nervous when I took out my first loan. I was only 27, and had never managed finances on my own. I bought two cows, and built a small dairy farm. It took me five years. I was able to transform not only my financial standing, but also that of people around me. I sent my husband abroad, first as a construction worker in Saudi Arabia, and then to Oman. I also helped my brother go abroad.

We just bought the land next to where we live, and we are planning on going into fullscale vegetable farming, as well as expanding the dairy farm. My son is in school. Shahriar will soon be sitting for his first national board exams, after which he wants to join a sports camp. His dream is to play for the national cricket team. He plays really well. People praise his skill as a fast bowler and they are confident he could play for the national youth team.

I know my son will one day move out of our home town. I try not to feel sad about it. For now, taking care of my aging father is a full-time job. He has written over a hundred folk songs in his younger days and now spends his time setting them to tune. His new songs amuse us all.