The Scale of the Problem
In the United States, approximately 11 million low-income women—a disproportionate number of whom are Black or Latina—pursue self-employment as a way to support themselves and their families. However, because of poor or missing credit and financial history, as well as systemic barriers, these women face significant obstacles to accessing mainstream financial services and working capital.
Without these resources, women entrepreneurs struggle to launch, sustain, and grow successful businesses, thereby limiting their ability to build assets, strengthen their footholds in the financial system, and achieve financial stability. Exclusion from the financial mainstream also means that these women are less able to weather economic volatility and more likely to fall victim to predatory lending practices that can trap them in cycles of debt.
4%
of all conventional small business loans are dedicated to women entrepreneurs
30%
of low-income communities are credit-invisible with no credit history
42%
of newly created women-owned businesses are started by Black women and 31% by Latina women
A Promising Solution
Grameen America provides affordable working capital — coupled with credit-building support, free savings accounts, financial education, and peer support — to help entrepreneurial women of color who are most acutely affected by financial exclusion to build their businesses and access a path to greater economic mobility.
To date, Grameen America has disbursed over $4.4 billion in loan capital to underserved women entrepreneurs, and it touts a 99% repayment rate—demonstrating the creditworthiness of this population of women. Through their “Women Are Limitless” campaign, Grameen America is working to significantly scale its innovative approach to addressing economic inequity over the next decade.
200k+
women entrepreneurs served to date
99%
loan repayment rate by Grameen America’s beneficiaries
> $4.4B
total amount of loans disbursed to date
Blue Meridian’s Investment
Our $85 million investment, comprising a $50 million grant alongside $35 million in a non-interest-bearing loan, supports Grameen America’s “Women Are Limitless: Accelerating Inclusive Growth and Impact” campaign, which aims to raise $600 million by 2029. The campaign is the first phase of Grameen America’s 10-year scaling plan, which will position the organization to significantly scale its impact to propel continued growth.
$85 million invested over 5 years
Double its current reach, growing from 83,000 to 170,000 active members by 2028, investing a total of $13.8 B
Deepen and accelerate impact for members with 79% of members obtaining a credit score and $800+ increase in non-retirement savings
Why We Are Excited About Grameen America
Every organization in our Nationwide Solutions investment portfolio is ready to embark on significant scaling and displays a multitude of strengths. Here are some highlights of the tremendous potential we saw in Grameen America’s scaling strategy that motivated us to invest:
Track Record of Growth and Impact
As the fastest-growing microfinance institution in the US, Grameen America has distributed over $4.4 billion to over 200,000 financially underserved women across 27 US cities since 2008. Grameen’s commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs has a ripple effect on the communities in which these businesses operate: over 212,000 jobs have been created and maintained because of loan capital from Grameen. Additionally, because repaid loans are recycled back into the loan portfolio, the impact of each dollar is multiplied; a single dollar has the potential to become $13 in loans disbursed over the course of five years.
Evidence-Backed Model
In 2022, Grameen America completed a randomized controlled trial—the gold standard of evaluations and the only such study on microfinance in the US to date—that showed statistically significant evidence of impact on financial outcomes for members. The rigorous, independent, third-party evaluation determined, among other findings, that the Grameen America microlending model resulted in a reduction of material hardship and an increase in credit scores, business ownership, and business earnings while also improving participants’ feelings of overall financial well-being.
Experienced and Visionary Leadership
During her tenure as President and CEO, Andrea Jung has led Grameen America through significant growth: increasing cumulative members served from 40,000 to over 200,000; strengthening its evidence of impact with an independent randomized controlled trial; achieving full financial sustainability; and doubling down on racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. She is well positioned to lead the organization through its next phase of growth, anchored by its bold “Women Are Limitless” campaign.
About Grameen America
Grameen America is the fastest growing microlender in the US, serving entrepreneurial women on the margins of the labor force and financial system. Its vision is that all entrepreneurs, regardless of gender, race, or income, have access to fair and affordable financial services to support upward economic mobility. Using a group microlending model, pioneered by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Grameen America provides loans and support to low-income, entrepreneurial women to help them build and grow micro-businesses.
Andrea Jung
President and CEO
Prior to joining Grameen, Ms. Jung served as Chief Executive Officer of Avon Products, Inc. for over a decade. Under her leadership, the Avon Foundation for Women raised and awarded nearly $1 billion to support health and empowerment causes, becoming the largest women-focused corporate philanthropy around the world. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc., Unilever, Rockefeller Capital Management and Wayfair Inc.
Women-owned businesses fuel the economy but still receive less funding than men
Andrea Jung joins MSNBC to announce Grameen American’s “Women Are Limitless” campaign.
