About
Grameen Foundation USA is a Washington, D.C.-based global nonprofit that fights poverty by putting financial tools, digital technology, and agricultural know-how into the hands of the world's poorest people - especially women. Founded in 1997 by Alex Counts with a $6,000 seed grant from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, the foundation grew out of the microfinance movement sparked by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Today it describes its work as "innovating the fight against poverty," with programs across India, the Philippines, Uganda, Ghana, and the United States.
Mission
Grameen Foundation is dedicated to fighting global poverty through innovative approaches that benefit the world's poorest and most remote populations, especially women. Its work is rooted in Professor Yunus's insight that "access to finance must reach the poorest to enable them to walk out of poverty."
What they do
- AccelHERate: builds sustainable livelihoods for young women, aiming to reach three million individuals and their families by 2030. In Uganda, the initiative trains women as mobile money agents; the foundation reports an average monthly income increase of 43 percent after just four months.
- InvestHER: aims to lift three million women entrepreneurs out of poverty by 2030. In Northern Ghana, it integrates Village Savings and Loan Associations onto digital platforms and runs a guarantee fund the foundation says lowers loan interest rates by up to 30 percent.
- TogetHER, We Grow: targets three million women farmers by 2030 with climate-smart agriculture and diversified income; in India, participating Farmer Producer Organizations reported a 230 percent increase in total sales turnover and 122 percent growth in female shareholders.
- Program SAFE: works to protect 100 million women and vulnerable people from financial abuse while building financial autonomy.
- Bankers Without Borders: a skilled-volunteer network that has grown from 100 volunteers in 2008 to over 23,000 professionals from 174 countries, contributing over 27.3 million dollars of in-kind services to social enterprises.
History
Alex Counts founded Grameen Foundation and became its President and CEO in 1997, after a decade working in microfinance and poverty reduction, including studying under Muhammad Yunus as a Fulbright scholar in Bangladesh. Yunus was a founding board member and continues as director emeritus. In 2025, Grameen Foundation announced that it was uniting with Yunus Social Business in an alliance to build locally led development, with India as a hub extending programs across Asia and Africa.
Financials
According to ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 73-1502797), Grameen Foundation USA reported total revenue of $8,439,523 and total expenses of $7,998,548 for the fiscal year ending June 2025, with net assets of $2,251,272. Contributions made up 88.4 percent of revenue.
Governance
Following the alliance with Yunus Social Business, Suresh Krishna serves as Global CEO of the combined alliance and Sabrina Quaraishi as President and CEO of Grameen Foundation USA; Zubaida Bai, the previous President and CEO, transitioned to Senior Strategic Advisor. The board is chaired by Elisabeth Rhyne, a specialist in financial inclusion. The foundation is headquartered at 2001 L St NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036, with offices in India and the Philippines.