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Subgroups
Potential borrowers formed groups of five to participate in the program. Randomization of these five-person loan groups to intervention and comparison conditions occurred before any services were delivered (that is, before the Grameen America group attended continuous group training). From March 2014 to March 2017, 1,492 women in 300 loan groups enrolled in the evaluation. After a slow recruitment period using a 50/50 recruitment ratio, the evaluation team changed the ratio to 80/20 and later to 65/35. The statistical analysis adjusts for these changes. Overall, 70 percent of the sample participants were assigned to the intervention.
The study enrolled participants between March 2014 and March 2017; this report presented early evidence from six-month surveys, through September 2017. An interim evaluation report is scheduled to be released in 2020, and a final report will be available in 2021.
The Robin Hood Foundation funds the Grameen America evaluation; the study report was funded by Citi Community Development.
The program serves women with incomes below the federal poverty line. At program entry, the average participant was 41 years old, Hispanic or Latina (99 percent), and not born in the United States (91 percent). One-quarter (27 percent) felt that they spoke English well. Half (50 percent) were working for an employer, and 73 percent were operating their own business. About two-thirds were parents of a child at home. For two-thirds, their highest credential earned was a high school diploma or GED certificate. Potential borrowers had to form groups of five to participate in the program.
Grameen America, a nonprofit organization.
Grameen America opened its first branch in 2008 in Queens, NY. Its model is based on and similar to the Grameen Bank microfinance lending program in Bangladesh in the 1970s. As of September 2018, Grameen America operated 20 branches in 13 cities in the United States.
The Grameen America program is a microfinance model that provides loans to women with low incomes in the United States who are seeking to start or expand their small businesses. Potential borrowers form a group of five to participate in the program. All five individuals in the group are required to know each other, live near each other, and each have a business purpose for a loan. The group members do not need to plan to operate similar businesses; each group member seeks an individual loan. Groups assigned to the intervention condition then enroll in Grameen America's mandatory continuous group training in which borrowers learn about interest rates, loan repayments, savings, credit establishment, asset accumulation, and the merits and risks of loans. Each member of the group then receives a loan from Grameen America and invests those loans to start or expand a business. Borrowers meet weekly with Grameen America staff to make loan repayments, continue training, and network with peers.
The Grameen America program is a microfinance model that provides loans to women with low incomes in the United States who are seeking to start or expand their small businesses. Potential borrowers form a group of five to participate in the program. Groups assigned to the comparison condition were not eligible for a loan from or any services offered by Grameen America.
Participation in the continuous group training and weekly meetings with Grameen America staff were both mandatory to receive the loan from Grameen America.
The study did not describe how long participants receive services.
Not known
The Grameen America branch in Union City, NJ, opened for this study in 2014, serving Union City, Jersey City, Hoboken, and the surrounding areas in northern New Jersey. Grameen America is a microfinance lending institution based in the United States.
Material hardship; type of employment (self-employed and/or working for an employer); participant credit score