MICROCAPITAL.ORG STORY: Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and Grameen Trust (GT) of Bangladesh Sign Memorandum of Understanding Aimed to Alleviate Poverty in Bangladesh and Other Developing Countries

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), a national institution under the Abu Dhabi Government, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Grameen Trust of Bangladesh, an NGO established by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus in 1989. The MoU, signed by Dr. Yunus and Ms. Al Mubarak, member of the ADFD Board and Director of the Loans and Equities Department, aims at defining cooperation between the two organizations for the purpose of alleviating poverty in Bangladesh and other developing countries. Specific details regarding the partnership have not been released [1, 2, 3].

Established in 1971, the ADFD has provided an equivalent of over USD 3.54 billion in aid to supervise 207 development projects. In addition, the fund has managed an equivalent of USD 2.72 billion in aid offered by the Abu Dhabi Government. The projects focus on Arab, African and Asian countries, which receive assistance from the fund in the form of concessional loans, grants or monetary contributions [4]. To date, the fund has completed two projects in Bangladesh, with three more under way. To see a project map which includes ADFD project details, click here [5].

In May of 2008, the ADFD announced a five-year strategy to support poverty alleviation in developing countries. The fund has allocated an equivalent of USD 204 million as soft loans to finance infrastructure projects [6]. Ms. Al Mubarak added, “The aim of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development is to help developing countries achieve stronger economic growth and sustainability through timely financial assistance. We are fostering partnerships with both private and governmental sectors and adopting global best practices to ensure that our objectives are attained.”

Grameen Trust (GT), part of the Grameen Bank network, implements and manages microfinance programs. It also provides funds, training and technical assistance to microfinance projects that have been jointly implemented by itself and a local intermediary organization [7]. To date, GT has assisted 141 replication partners in 38 countries. As of December 2007, GT disbursed USD 14.8 million as seed capital and its partners disbursed a total of USD 3 billion to 4.3 million borrowers. While GT is part of the Grameen Bank network, it is an independent company, registered under Companies Act of Bangladesh, and Grameen Bank does not own any of its shares nor has it provided GT with any loans. However, Dr. Yunus, the founder and current Managing Director of Grameen Bank, sits as Chairman of the Grameen Trust Board [8, 9, 10].

By: Stefanie Rubin, Research Assistant

Bibliography:

[1] Abu Dhabi Fund for Development: http://www.adfd.ae/pages/default.aspx

[2] Grameen Trust: http://www.grameentrust.org/index.html

[3] ADFD Commits to Global Poverty Eradication by Pledging Support to Developing Nations: http://www.zawya.com/printstory.cfm?storyid=ZAWYA20091013080221&l=080200091013

[4] ADFD About: http://www.adfd.ae/aboutadfd/default.aspx

[5] ADFD Project Map: http://www.adfd.ae/projects/projectsmap/default.aspx

[6] Abu Dhabi Fund Unveils Poverty Alleviation Strategy: http://povertynewsblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/abu-dhabi-fund-unveils-poverty.html

[7] Grameen Trust Annual Reports 2007: BOT BOM BOO Programs: http://www.grameentrust.org/annualreports/2007/botbombooprograms.html

[8] Grameen Trust Annual Reports 2007: Joint Coallition Programs: http://www.grameentrust.org/annualreports/2007/joint_collla_programs.html

[9] Grameen Trust Annual Reports 2007: Financial Support: http://www.grameentrust.org/annualreports/2007/financialsupport.html

[10] Grameen Bank: http://www.grameen-info.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=175

Similar Posts: