Grameen Foundation Honors Pro Mujer for Outstanding Accomplishments

Pro Mujer a leading microfinance organization in Latin America, and a pioneer at combining financial services and healthcare for the poorest women entrepreneurs is pleased to announce that Pro Mujer in Bolivia and its Director, Carmen Velasco have received the 2006 Grameen Foundation Pioneer in Microfinance Award.

NEW YORK (PRWEB) November 8, 2006 -- Pro Mujer (www.promujer.org) a leading microfinance organization in Latin America, and a pioneer at combining financial services and healthcare for the poorest women entrepreneurs is pleased to announce that Pro Mujer in Bolivia and its Director, Carmen Velasco have received the 2006 Grameen Foundation Pioneer in Microfinance Award. The award ceremony will take place Thursday, November 9th, at Columbia University in New York City.

The purpose of the 2006 Awards Program, now in its 6th year, is to honor microfinance practitioners and their organizations for their outstanding accomplishments in reducing global poverty. Pro Mujer in Bolivia is recognized for its innovative approach of providing financial services and health care to the poorest women entrepreneurs.

"We are delighted that the Grameen Foundation is giving us this award based on our pioneering work showing the value and feasibility of providing both financial and health services to women who are struggling to raise themselves and their families out of poverty," said Carmen Velasco, Co-Founder of Pro Mujer and Director of Pro Mujer in Bolivia, which is the flagship model of Pro Mujer's organization.

"Pro Mujer in Bolivia's success in extending microcredit to over 70,000 active clients, expanding capacity, capturing resources in innovative ways, and pursuing breakthrough strategies is impressive," said Alex Counts, President of Grameen Foundation. "With its unique model of "one-stop" integrated financial, education and healthcare centers, the organization has shown how microfinance can be an important avenue for overall social change."

Grameen Bank has been a model for Pro Mujer since 1993 when co-founders Carmen Velasco and Lynne Patterson visited Bangladesh to learn how it operated. They later adapted and developed the village banking model, and today it provides credit to over 150,000 women in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, Mexico and Argentina. "It is particularly gratifying for Pro Mujer not only to see the impact of replicating the Grameen approach to our own network, but also to see this powerful tool to fight poverty recognized by the Nobel Peace Prize in its recent award to Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank.," Velasco said.

About Pro Mujer

Pro Mujer is an international microfinance organization, offering an integrated package of financial services, business training and healthcare to Latin America's poorest women entrepreneurs. Its integrated approach has proven a sustainable model for microfinance operations and a very effective way to help the poor achieve economic security and improved health. Beginning in Bolivia in 1990, Pro Mujer now also operates in Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. It has disbursed $217 million in small loans averaging $164. Pro Mujer clients have saved $8.6 million in individual accounts.

Pro Mujer is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. More information is available on our web site, www.promujer.org