Grameen America: Digital tools to expand small business access to capital

Our programs

Grameen America is dedicated to helping low-income entrepreneurial women build businesses to enable financial mobility.

How Grameen America supports small businesses across the United States

  • Without access to the financial system, underserved entrepreneurs often turn to alternative financial services such as payday lenders that charge high average interest rates of up to 400%. Grameen America closes this gap as the fastest-growing microfinance organization in the U.S. working to provide affordable capital, peer networking, and financial training to entrepreneurs.   
  • As of 2025, Grameen America has expanded to 29 cities across America, investing capital in over 230,000 small businesses. 
  • Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grameen America completed an organization-wide management information system (MIS) buildout and national disbursement card rollout, moving their staff and members away from paper and cash, towards the digital economy. Through the Mastercard Strive USA partnership, Grameen America will continue this digital transformation.

Program overview

Our work together

  • Grameen America operates in a high-touch, people-based model; while this has been key to its success, it has also limited its ability to grow. Relationship Managers spend much of their time processing loan renewals which limits their ability to grow Grameen’s membership. 
  • Grameen America’s high-touch, people-centered model has been central to its success, fostering deep trust and strong relationships with members. To build on this strength and continued growth, the organization is leveraging technology to streamline processes like loan renewals and repayment, freeing up Relationship Managers to focus more on expanding membership and deepening member engagement.
  • Since 2022, Grameen America has been upgrading its technology capabilities to expand locations nationwide. To support this growth, it launched My Grameen, a multi-function member application.
  • This application reduces administrative burdens on Grameen America’s Relationship Managers and creates a central place for entrepreneurs to independently submit loan applications, make payments, submit documents for renewal, and track their group’s meeting attendance. Automated processes free up time for Relationship Managers which they can use to engage with new and existing members..

By the numbers

  • The My Grameen app, launched in April 2023, has been rolled out to every branch in the national network. 
  • 98% of Grameen America members now actively use the app, highlighting its wide adoption among members nationwide. 85% of all loan applications are now completed through My Grameen and 83% of members make their loan repayments through the app.

“Trust is key to the success of Grameen America’s model, and it will always be at the foundation of everything we do. Our interactions with each member are highly personalized, which builds trust with the growing network of women we serve across America. We’re deeply grateful for our partnership with Mastercard Strive, whose support has helped accelerate our technology advancements and expand our reach.”

Marcus Berkowitz

Chief Product and Innovation Officer, Grameen America

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