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The philosophy of Grameen (rural) banking system was invented by a maverick economist (Dr Yunus) in a tiny village of Bangladesh in 1976, with the aim to eliminate poverty and improve the socio‐economic condition of the rural poor. The bank provides loans to poor people who are unable to provide collateral and indoctrinated in Grameen social values, known as the “sixteen decisions”. Grameen borrowers also vow to observe the bank’s “four basic principles”, and they are the owners (92 per cent) of the bank. Grameen bank began its operations by giving a small amount of money ($30) to 40 people. Today, it employs 14,000 staff and has disbursed more than $1 billion dollars of loan among two million rural people in Bangladesh of which 95 per cent are women, and the rate of its loan repayment is 98 per cent. The Grameen is functioning not only in Bangladesh but also in 50 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and in the USA. Moving onto the implementation of Grameen‐type micro‐credit systems in Europe, or elsewhere, the differences in socio‐culture, economics and politics (between Bangladesh and the region concerned) should be considered. Thus, this paper is an attempt to investigate the prospects of the implementation of Grameen/micro‐credit banking system in European socio‐economic and cultural contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze Grameen America's response to COVID-19 pandemic. This is accomplished by identifying and analyzing the key initiatives implemented by Grameen America within the framework of selected United Nations' Sustainability Development Goals (UN’s SD Goals).

This study has used qualitative content analysis to analyze financial and nonfinancial information of Grameen Bank.

This study follows a qualitative content analysis method to precisely gauge the shift in Grameen’s strategy and focus, as well as to assess the impact of its initiatives on the small business community before and after the pandemic. The findings showcase that Grameen’s longstanding mission to alleviate poverty is in line with the UN’s SD Goal 1. Also, Grameen’s commitment to create partnerships with external organizations to offer credit and noncredit services and support is consistent with UN’s SD Goal 17.

Notwithstanding the significant contributions of this case study, the findings are limited in some respects. First, this case study focuses on the Grameen America’s unique experience regarding its response to COVID-19 pandemic. This may affect the interpretation and generalization of the findings of this study. Performing comparative views across wide range of relevant microlending institutions could help improve the generalization of the findings. Also, this case study examines the impact on women and minority groups who were particularly affected by the pandemic. The results should, therefore, be interpreted with care as circumstances may change over time.

The implication for practice is that policymakers should encourage the creation of more member-based financial and non-financial institutions that can help members integrate financially and socially into society. Also, practitioners should increase their ethical duties and responsibilities to their members in society in good and bad times as members tend to value the ethical aspect of financial businesses.

The social implication of the findings is that helping members of society to cope with the difficulties brought about by COVID increased the sense of belonging among members and made them feel cared for, thereby increasing financial and social inclusion among underserved people.

Prior literature addressed the initiatives of microlending institutions such as Grameen Bank to achieve financial inclusion among financially vulnerable women. This case study contributes to the literature on financial inclusion and poverty alleviation by examining Grameen America’s response to the pandemic by identifying and assessing Grameen America (GA’s) key initiatives and their impact within the framework of the UN’s SD Goals in the post COVID-19 world.

In a paper entitled ‘On reaching the poor’, Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder and the managing director of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh (GBB), reasoned that

Papua New Guinea is a country with relatively low levels of social and economic development, particularly for women. Severe social problems, including unemployment, lawlessness and domestic violence combine with a particular set of geographic, historical, cultural and economic conditions to make life difficult for the country's rural poor, and especially for women. Self‐help through the provision of small‐scale credit for income‐generating activities is a relatively new concept in Papua New Guinea, although some forms of rural credit have existed since the 1960s. The need and demand for such credit are very high.

The purpose of the paper is to highlight key issues for the social enterprise field in Bangladesh, which are not sufficiently addressed in current social enterprise debates and discourse.

The paper reviews key economic and political debates in the current social enterprise literature. It then attempts to demonstrate how these are insufficient for critical analysis of social enterprise in Bangladesh. The paper draws on field research and literature on the Grameen social enterprises to inform this argument.

The paper finds that this review of the main debates in a Bangladeshi context raises many pertinent and urgent questions about the role of social enterprise in addressing: complex market failures; the boundaries of the field in the informal and formal sectors; the conflicts caused by contending political objectives and donor/creditor expectations; and broader development issues.

The paper focuses on the economic and political factors, which differ between Western and developing world environments. It does this with the specific example of the Grameen Energy and Grameen Bank social enterprises from Bangladesh. Whilst this is sufficient to support the paper's aim, it limits the scope of the findings.

This paper highlights a gap in the literature which has had little attention in academic or practitioner fields of social enterprise.

Today’s financial reporting inherits its origin in money, numbers and accounting dated back 7,000 years in Mesopotamia. The Italian Luca Pacioli, “first person to publish a work on double-entry bookkeeping”¹ is regarded as the father of accounting and bookkeeping. In USA, SEC issued its first Accounting Series Release which appeared to be Commission’s views on auditing and accounting, later, in 1982 has become known as Financial Reporting Releases. Today more than 100 countries permit publicly held companies to use International Financial Reporting Standards. This meteoric rise for use of financial reporting was due to a worldwide demand from regulators, lenders, trade partners, businesses, investors and policy makers. “The Companies Act of 1994 mandates requirement for financial reporting by all companies in Bangladesh.”² Banks’ reporting formats and disclosures in Bangladesh based on BAS 30 is similar to the requirements of the Companies Act of 1994. The research depicts how the two banking institutions of Bangladesh – Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) and Grameen Bank having two philosophical objectives – uniquely present their results of operation under a uniform financial reporting system and how they differ in their financial operations.

Examines critically the Grameen Bank (GB) experience in Bangladesh in order to understand the essential elements of its operations. Reports that this unique financial institution developed the important factors needed to help the poor and that GB has replaced physical collateral requirements with group responsibility. States that by organizing poor people into groups, it has created the social and financial conditions enabling them to receive loans; it has demonstrated that the poor are bankable, capable of making good business decisions in utilizing their loans and repaying them on time. Explains that GB showed the possibility to develop a viable and self‐reliant credit programme for the poor. Concludes that the GB approach also proves that financial intermediation is a viable device to fight poverty, and an excellent vehicle for community development.

Capitalism as a concept is founded on “free economy” guided by a free price system and free access to markets. Many of the ills facing present day society such as unemployment, poverty, rising disparities of income, malnutrition, high polluted environment are getting increasingly linked to this corporate philosophy. Alternatives such as social business enterprises have been suggested and practiced by some of the enlightened entrepreneurs. This paper examines the tenets of social business, which advocates enhancing values to society, and the social benefit to all the stakeholders.

This is an exploratory study and presents the origin, the rationale of the development of the strategic business model and its implementation. The model, based on the philosophy of social business, has been developed and practiced by Grameen Danone Foods Limited. The study has been conducted entirely on the basis of information and data available in the public domain.

The findings show an encouraging contribution towards enhancing social benefits to society. These are visible in meeting the needs of the children suffering from malnutrition, in the generation of employment and providing a rare dignity to the poor of the poorest. The shortfall in business results is traced to missing economy of scale of operations.

Social business is a new and a bold concept. It has faced many hurdles in its journey to meet objectives. The solutions it has discovered are sure to benefit many researchers, entrepreneurs, social‐welfare oriented societies, non‐profit organizations, national planners, regulators and society‐leaders.

The purpose of this paper is to look at Grameen Bank (GB) Sixteen Decisions campaigns and its implications to feminism; and to examine the degree to which women borrowers of the Grameen Bank are empowered to participate in familial decision‐making around dowry and teenage marriage and to develop their public spaces in the community. Moreover, the paper critically looks at the GB women borrowers' development through the Sixteen Decisions.

The study uses multiple research methods. It reviews and analyzes GB Sixteen Decision texts and feminist literature, uses survey method to collect data from Grameen Bank micro borrowers in 2011 and uses secondary data.

The survey finds information on the GB members and GB family members elected in the Union Parishad Elections in 1997 and in 2003, a testimony that GB women borrowers' local counsel participation trend is increasing. This study still finds the gender equality issues exist in the GB Sixteen Decisions texts and the Sixteen Decisions campaign strategies for women borrowers' empowerment.

This critical analysis of GB Sixteen Decisions is very important to empower GB women borrowers because the GB Sixteen Decisions texts and the Sixteen Decisions campaigns could be made more effective in addressing women's issues like dowry‐less marriage, teenage marriage and gender equality rights in the family and community space if Grameen Bank could revise the Sixteen Decisions texts and support borrowers in their anti‐dowry and anti‐teen age marriage campaign in Bangladesh.

The purpose of this paper is to examine microcredit and renewable energy programs for green development.

This paper envisions a comparison and contrasting of Grameen Bank and credit systems (Bangladesh) with Alterna Savings credit programs (Canada) and its impact on Toronto's local living economics and environmental development.

The findings are positive to environmental sustainable development.

Green micro financing and green micro business development have been underserved, less attention to the subject has been given by various public, private and non‐governmental organizations (financial and non‐financial) agencies through policies, strategies, and programs. This research examines the possibility of introducing market‐based green business development in Canada that would model that of Grameen Bank and its sister organizations.