Our Story
In the United States, a staggering 15% of Black women and 30% of low-income individuals are credit invisible.
Black women entrepreneurs are 20% less likely to fund their businesses with bank business loans and more likely to rely on expensive personal credit cards and personal and family savings.
Black women were among the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs before COVID-19, representing 42% of new women-owned businesses—three times their share of the female population.
Elevate by Grameen America aims to meaningfully address barriers and funding gaps for financially underserved women in predominantly Black communities. Without access to capital, it is nearly impossible for under-resourced women to launch or grow a business.
Elevate by Grameen America currently brings affordable capital to businesswomen in New York, NY; Newark, NJ; Memphis, TN; Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX; Birmingham, AL - and plans to continue expanding nationally over the next decade.
What is Grameen America?
Grameen America is the fastest-growing nonprofit microfinance organization in the United States with a proven national solution to advance financial inclusion for women. Grameen America offers affordable loan capital, a peer network of support, business development training, asset-building, and credit development tools to impact and improve emerging businesswomen’s income, credit scores, and personal savings.
Our Vision
We envision an inclusive society in which all entrepreneurs, regardless of gender, race, or income, have access to fair and affordable financial services to build generational wealth.
Our Dream
Elevate by Grameen America was developed for women in predominantly Black communities, to provide members with personalized guidance, peer mentorship, and capital to support businesses from start to finish.
