The Allianz Knowledge Site's Who's Who features people and organizations that make a difference in the areas of climate change, microfinance, and demographic change.
Germanwatch
Who are they?
A German NGO that addresses the issues of climate change, food security, and North-South relations.
What do they do?
Along with other published papers and statistics about climate change, Germanwatch, together with CAN-Europe, has issued two Climate Change Performance Indexes - annual assessments and rankings of carbon dioxide emissions trends and climate policy in the world's biggest countries. Germanwatch also published a special ranking of the G8+5 countries ahead of the June 2007 G8 Summit in Germany.
Bonn-based Germanwatch has also raised legal complaints against the German Economic Ministry for not disclosing of the climate impacts of German exports, as well as against carmaker Volkswagen for violating the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, focusing business on car types that are "particularly harmful to the climate," and lobbying against climate protection frameworks.
Grameen Bank
Who are they?
A microfinance institution and community development bank in Bangladesh.
What do they do?
Founded in 1983 by Muhammad Yunus, the Grameen Bank gives out small loans to poor people, mostly women in rural areas, without demanding collateral. The bank grew from a simple microfinance institution into a state-wide conglomerate including fabric, telephone, and energy companies.
As of May, 2007, the bank had 7.21 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom were women. With 2,431 branches, Grameen Bank provided services in 78,659 villages, covering more than 94 percent of the total villages in Bangladesh. The bank's customers hold 94 percent of its shares; the remaining 6 percent is owned by the government.
In recent years, Grameen has expanded the services available to clients. New services include pension schemes, individual savings accounts, and a range of "microfranchises," such as the Village Phone initiative. Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. The Grameen Foundation was founded in 1997 to apply the methods developed by the Grameen Bank worldwide.
Grameen Foundation
Who are they?
An international spin-off of Muhammad Yunus's Grameen Bank, promoting microfinance worldwide.
What do they do?
Inspired by the work of Yunus and Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, Grameen Foundation was founded in 1997 to support local microfinance institutions with funding, technology, technical assistance, and training. The organization and its global network partners reach over 3.6 million families in 22 countries.
The foundation has established a Technology Center focused on developing and deploying information and communications technology (ICT) to support microfinance and microfranchising initiatives, such as Grameen's Village Phone project. Grameen Foundation also launched the Capital Markets Group, aimed at tapping local and international capital markets to help expand microfinance worldwide. Like Grameen Bank, Grameen Foundation focuses on providing microfinance to women.
