Impact of Micro-Credit of Grameen Bank in Reducing Rural Poverty: A Study in Two Upazillas of Sylhet District

Abstract

Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries with 160 million people, 49 percent of whom live below poverty line. In addition child malnutrition of 48 percent is the second highest in the world, a condition that is tied to the low social status of women in Bangladesh. After only a little over three decades as an independence country, Bangladesh has made a significant progress in reducing poverty and improving the conditions of its poor people. Micro-credit programme is playing a vital role in poverty alleviation schemes in Bangladesh and over the world. Therefore, the study was designed to investigate the impact of micro-credit of Grameen Bank in poverty alleviation of rural poor people in Bangladesh. So it adopted Triangulation approach using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. It was an ‘explorative’ method of research in nature.  The study was conducted in two Upozillas Sylhet Sadar and South Surma under Sylhet district covering two branches of Grameen bank. The target population was those women who had availed microcredit facilities from Grameen Bank.  The sampling unit was a woman who had availed microcredit. A total of 90 respondents (60 from 547Active Borrowers and 30 from 154 Drop-out Borrowers) were selected through Systematic Quasi or Fixed Interval Random Sampling. Three focus group discussions were conducted to collect qualitative data regarding the study phenomenon. Quantitative data are analyzed in percentage while qualitative data are interpreted in descriptive manner.

Keywords: Rural Poverty, Microcredit, Socio-economic Impacts