Alex Counts, Founder of the Grameen Foundation

The Grameen Foundation is a microfinance network that impacts an estimated 11 million lives worldwide. Alex discusses innovation in microfinance and international development and his vision for the future.


MP3 File | Subscribe via iTunes | Add to del.icio.us | Transcript

Alex Counts founded the Grameen Foundation in 1997 with $6,000 in seed capital and has grown the organization to a global network of 52 microfinance partners in 22 countries.

Counts trained under this year’s Nobel Peace Prize recipient Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank, who provided the seed funding for the Grameen Foundation to play the role of catalyst, channeling human, financial and technological resources in the United States to support the growth of the poverty-focused microfinance movement.

In this podcast Counts discusses the on-going innovation in microfinance, key leadership challenges, and Grameen’s expansion strategy. Counts answers questions from Julio and Min Li – iinnovate’s newest member – as well as questions from listeners such as Jessica Flannery from Kiva.

This podcast also marks iinnovate's first foray into video. Check out the clip below to hear Alex describing innovations in microfinance (special thanks to Irit Epelbaum for the videography)



Check out additional video content from this interview:

• What is microfinance (clip)
• Under what circumstances does microfinance work (clip)
• Microfinance as a ‘platform’ (clip)
• Impact of technology on microfinance (clip)
• Grameen Foundation’s Expansion Strategy (clip)
• Why is Africa underserved by microfinance (clip)

For more information check out this radio interview with Alex Counts on American University Radio.

JULIO.