Grameen Foundation For Social Impact

Grameen Foundation for Social Impact (GFSI) is a not-for-profit organization, registered under section 25 of Companies Act, 1956 (now known as section 8 of the Indian Companies Act 2013). GFSI was acquired by Grameen Foundation India in 2017 to undertake activities and services that impact the lives of the poor, especially women.

At Grameen, we believe that empowering women with economic opportunities creates a ripple effect that benefits not only their families but also their entire communities. Our organization is renowned for pioneering innovative and scalable models that have positively impacted millions of low-income people.

Our Story

Our story begins with Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus who pioneered the first use of microcredit in Bangladesh in the 1970s. This groundbreaking approach showed how microfinance could empower women and create a brighter future for their families. Professor Yunus founded Grameen Bank to serve the low-income population in Bangladesh and later provided a seed grant of USD 6,000 to establish the independent Grameen Foundation, a global non-profit organization based in the United States.

In 1998, Grameen Foundation began working in India, and in 2010, it established Grameen Foundation India. While continuing to innovate in the field of microfinance, Grameen Foundation also developed digital technologies to help rural and low-income communities access financial services, improve their livelihoods, and safeguard their health. The organization is constantly making breakthroughs, developing tailored poverty-alleviation solutions that leverage digital technology and trusted intermediaries to reach those in the "last mile."

In 2012, Grameen Foundation for Social Impact (GFSI) was established, becoming a leading non-profit organization in India. Its mission is to enable the poor, especially women, to create a world without poverty and hunger.

Our Core Values

Our core values resonate the way we think, behave, execute, and make decisions to achieve our mission. These values include:
Respect

Respect

To Respect individual human rights and privacy, eliminating all kinds of discrimination.
Integrity

Integrity

To Demonstrate ethical principles, create a trustworthy and honest work environment.
Empathy

Empathy

Promote the ability to understand others' perspectives and/or circumstances.
Excellence

Excellence

To Pursue knowledge and evidence-based program design, implementation, and evaluation.
Effectiveness

Effectiveness

To Ensure that we maximize our output for each unit of input invested.
Sustainability

Sustainability

To Ensure our actions and results can withstand the test of time and be sustainable.
Inclusive

Inclusive

To Ensure we focus on marginalized and vulnerable groups and establish mechanisms for inclusion in programs and ways of working.
Participation

Participation

To Ensure participation of our beneficiaries and stakeholders in decision-making processes.

Grameen's Overarching Theory of Change

Grameen’s overarching theory of change is a standard framework, applied to its various programming areas, across the sectors of livelihoods, enterprise development, financial services, and health and nutrition. This overriding theory of change is based on three key pillars – Access to information, access to markets, products and services, and enhanced skills, capabilities and attitudes, which is applied to three core segments that Grameen targets. These are low-income people, particularly women, facing various disadvantages, smallholder farmers, and micro and small businesses.

Our Expertise

Creating breakthrough solutions that enable people living in poverty to generate income, build assets, improve their health, strengthen their resilience, and manage risk.
We INNOVATE to deliver customized, client-centric poverty alleviation solutions that leverage digital technology and trusted intermediaries to reach the ‘last mile’
We drive and leverage PARTNERSHIPS to create scalable solutions
We offer TECHNICAL assistance to organizations serving low-income segments