The Grameen Bank’s Method of action can be illustrated by the following principles:
- 1. Start with the problem rather than the solution: a credit system must be based on a survey of the social background rather than on a pre-established banking technique.
- 2. Adopt a progressive attitude: development is a long-term process which depends on the aspirations and committment of the economic operators.
- 3. Make sure that the credit system serves the poor, and not vice-versa: credit officers visit the villages, enabling them to get to know the borrowers.
- 4. Establish priorities for action vis-a-vis to the the target population: serve the most poverty-stricken people needing investment resources, who have no access to credit.
- 5. At the begining, restrict credit to income-generating production operations, freely selected by the borrower. Make it possible for the borrower to be able to repay the loan.
- 6. Lean on solidarity groups: small informal groups consisting of co-opted members coming from the same background and trusting each other.
- 7. Associate savings with credit without it being necessarily a prerequisite.
- 8. Combine close monitoring of borrowers with procedures which are simple and standardised as possible.
- 9. Do everything possible to ensure the system’s financial balance.
- 10. Invest in human resources: training leaders will provide them with real development ethics based on rigour, creativity, understanding and respect for the rural environment.
