A surprising number of people in the developing world still hide their money under a mattress at home. Accessible and developed banking systems are still in short supply and borrowing money at double digit monthly interests is prohibitive and discourages business. Microfinance is the bridge that empowers the underprivileged.

I received the announcement below today directly via email - it will be very interesting to see how many Kabissa members and other African entrepreneurs take advantage of this opportunity to power up their villages with mobile communications. If you do, please let us know by commenting on this post!

Grameen Foundation will provide $10,000 each to up to two organizations to launch Village Phone programs

Grameen Foundation today announced its inaugural Village Phone Grant Competition which will provide $10,000 each to up to two organizations to launch Village Phone programs. The competition is open to microfinance institutions and other non-profit organizations and is being run through Grameen Foundation's Village Phone Assistance Center website, www.villagephonedirect.org.

In addition to the $10,000 grant, the recipients will also receive technical assistance from the Grameen Foundation Village Phone team and support in developing program materials. To participate, organizations should submit their proposals via email to villagephone@grameenfoundation.org by August 24, 2008. Those selected to move on to the next round must submit their final applications by September 30. The competition guidelines are available on the Assistance Center website.

Grameen have created a website "Progress Out of Poverty" which is a tool for measuring poverty - the Progress out of Poverty Index.