Grameen Foundation protests AP story

Grameen Foundation, an independent US-based organisation, has strongly protested an Associated Press article, which the non-profit claimed “insinuates that Grameen Foundation received USAID money based on unethical behaviour.” In a letter addressed to the article's two authors, Grameen Foundation's President & CEO Steve Hollingworth wrote: “The article incorrectly states that Muhammad Yunus 'runs' Grameen Foundation, and insinuates that Grameen Foundation received USAID money based on unethical behaviour, rather than through standard competitive processes and based on the merit of our organisation and programmes.” He also pointed out that Prof Yunus was a founding member of the board of Grameen Foundation in 1997, but the Foundation itself was an independent non-profit with its own leadership and staff. “While we continue to gain inspiration from the vision and leadership provided by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, he does not 'run' Grameen Foundation.” “Furthermore, your article incorrectly implies that Grameen Foundation’s original partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and subsequent grant funding, were the result of a meeting between Prof Yunus and Hillary Clinton in April 2009,” Hollingworth wrote. “On the contrary, the partnership entered between USAID and Grameen Foundation in 2009 was based on both organisations’ strong commitment to microfinance as a path out of poverty for the world’s poor.” The partnership was to extend $162.5 million as loan guarantees in support of microfinance institutions in poor countries, Hollingworth wrote. “The $162.5 million was not money that went to Grameen Foundation. It was a pool of funds to provide credit guarantees to enable microfinance institutions in poor countries to operate and continue to serve low-income clients. “Grameen Foundation managed the fund on behalf of USAID and provided additional co-guarantee funding.” The letter claimed that the article by Stephen Braun and Eileen Sullivan had also implied that the money received by Grameen Foundation from USAID between 2012 and 2016 was unethically procured or sourced. “In fact, Grameen Foundation competed for USAID-funded grants, participating in its rigorous and strictly regulated competitive bid process.” “There is no basis for the allegations in your article. They misrepresent our work, our history, and our values,” Hollingworth added. In the AP story published on August 24, Braun and Sullivan wrote: “Yunus first met with Clinton in Washington in April 2009. That was followed six months later by an announcement by USAID, the State Department’s foreign aid arm, that it was partnering with the Grameen Foundation, a nonprofit charity run by Yunus, in a $162 million commitment to extend its microfinance concept abroad. USAID also began providing loans and grants to the Grameen Foundation, totalling $2.2 million over Clinton’s tenure.”