JP Morgan provides $3M grant to Grameen Foundation’s BwB Initiative

By Nagesh Narayana

Microfinance Focus, Feb 5, 2010: Supported by a three-year, $3 million grant from JPMorgan Chase Foundation, an inaugural sponsor of the program in 2008, Grameen Foundation has announced it is expanding its Bankers without Borders® (BwB) initiative, which taps senior working professionals for short-term, field-based or remote skills-based projects supporting microfinance institutions (MFIs) and technology-for-development initiatives.

Since the program’s launch, approximately 3,000 professionals from around the world have registered with BwB, and many have supported high priority needs of MFIs or networks on projects in areas such as: portfolio risk management, human capital development, social performance management, and information and communication technology innovations. Volunteers have contributed more than $2.3 million of in-kind service to Grameen Foundation and MFIs in nine countries, including Haiti, China, India, Ghana and Tunisia.

Grameen Foundation currently has over 50 active BwB projects for which it is recruiting or to which volunteers are currently assigned. J.P. Morgan funding will enable the program to expand globally, help build the capacity of MFIs, and advance broader private sector support for volunteerism to improve the lives and livelihoods of the poor.

“Bankers without Borders’ volunteers are helping to give poor people greater access to financial services and information technology by helping microfinance organizations and technology-for-development initiatives improve their operations, develop new products, and reach more clients,” said Alex Counts, president and CEO of Grameen Foundation. “J. P. Morgan continues to be a strong ally in helping us strengthen the vital role that volunteers play in the fight against poverty.”

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