Greetings from Canada! Having done some research on microcredit and microbanking, I am quite aware and also intrigued by the Grameen Bank and its methods. In collaboration with other organizations, I wish to begin a microbanking establishment in Nicaragua. I am presently at the first phase in my development strategy: the research phase. As your web page is quite thorough on the method used by Grameen Bank, I have but a few questions:
In a patriarchal society where men are the decision-makers and heads of households, how do you get a substantial number of women borrowers? What recruiting techniques do you use? Surely this strategy of loaning mostly to women must undermine the men and create a lot of tension. How do you deal with this tension? How do the women feel in their new empowered position?
Is the Grameen Bank entirely a cooperative bank or only partly?
In other words, to what degree do the lenders have a say in how the bank is managed and what programs are available?