| | |  Business News | September 2009 
Tycoon Slim, Grameen to Begin Mexico Microloans
 Cyntia Barrera Diaz - Reuters
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September 25, 2009
| | Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim | |
Mexico City - Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim has teamed with a famed Bangladeshi banker to launch a $45 million micro-lending program in Oaxaca, one of country's poorest states, a Slim spokeswoman said on Thursday.
A charitable foundation run by Slim, one of the world's richest men, and Grameen Trust, the brainchild of micro-lending pioneer and 2006 Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus, will offer loans to women who need funds to start small businesses.
The loans will be an average of $267 and have to be repaid after 12 months. Applicants do not need to offer a guarantee for the loan, but must submit a proposal for their request to be approved. The interest rate was not disclosed.
"Grameen (Trust) has proved it worldwide: women always pay back the loans and the money they receive is put toward the well-being of their families," said a spokesman for the Slim foundation.
Oaxaca, in western Mexico, is known for its beautiful beaches, monarch butterfly sanctuaries and crafts, but struggles with ravaging poverty and extremely low education levels.
Slim and Grameen Trust plan to expand the program to other Mexican states in the coming months.
(Editing by Maureen Bavdek)
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