Description
A deeply reported work of journalism that explores the promises and perils of global microfinance, told through the eyes of those who work in small-scale lending and of women borrowers in Sierra Leone, West Africa. In the mid-1970s, Muhammad Yunus, an American-trained Bangladeshi economist, met a poor female stoolmaker who needed money to expand her business. In an act known as the beginning of microfinance, Yunus lent $27 to 42 women, hoping small credit would help them to pull themselves out of poverty. Soon, Yunus's Grameen Bank was born and, very small but often high-interest loans for poor people took off. In 2006, Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on anti-poverty lending. But there's a problem with this story. There are mounting concerns that these small loans are as likely to bury poor people in debt as they are to pull them from poverty, with borrowers facing consequences such as jail time and forced land sales. Hundreds have even reportedl
