Microcredit Finance

Microcredit, also called micro banking or microfinance, a means of extending [ব্যাপ্ত] credit [ঋণ], usually, in the form of small loans with no collateral, to non-traditional borrowers [গ্রাহক] such as the poor in rural areas. This approach [পদ্ধতি] was institutionalized [সংস্থাগত] in 1976 by Muhammad Yunus, an American-educated Bangladeshi economist [অর্থনীতিবিদ] who had observed [লক্ষিত] that a significant percentage of the world’s population has been barred [নিবৃত্ত] from acquiring [পাত্তয়া] the capital necessary to rise out of poverty [দারিদ্র্য]. There are about 800 micro finance institutions in Bangladesh with a total membership of 7 million. The cumulative [ক্রমবর্ধমান] disbursement [বিতরণ] by these institutions since is estimated [আনুমানিক] at Tk. 44 billion. It is estimated that they have employed 54000 people. It has many positive effects on socio economic variables. Apart from providing loan to the rural woman it creates employment opportunities [সুযোগ], eradicates [উৎপাটন করা] poverty, and raises consciousness [চেতনা]. It also emphasizes [জোর] children’s schooling, nutrition and family planning. Borrowing by women particularly [বিশেষ করে] improved the nutritional status of both male and female children. Consumption by 5 percent of the programme participants increased to the point that their households rose above the poverty line. These findings about the importance of micro credit in poverty reduction [হ্রাস] have been substantiated [প্রতিপন্ন] by other studies both in Bangladesh and in other countries.