Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the

Publication Series

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of CompaniesBuilding Social Enterprises as Business Ventures

By M. Khalid Shams

January 2009

www.grameenfoundation.org

i Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of Companies January 2009

About Grameen Foundation

Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world’s poorest people to escape poverty. Its global microfinance network and technology initiatives reach an estimated 34 million people in 28 countries across Asia, Africa, the Americas, and, through Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance, Ltd., in the Arab world. Based in Washington, D.C., Grameen Foundation was founded in 1997 by Alex Counts, who began his work in microfinance with 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank. Dr. Yunus is a founding and current member of Grameen Foundation’s board of directors.

For more information on Grameen Foundation, please visit www.grameenfoundation.org.

Acknowledgments by the Author

During the 1990’s, I was involved very closely with some of the most exciting institution-building and social development work in association with Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank. Following my retirement from the Bank, I was very keen to document the experience and share it with a larger audience. I am delighted that Grameen Foundation facilitated this short research, enabling me to sit back, reflect and write about this experience. Alex Counts, who leads the Foundation, has always been a strong supporter of the global Grameen movement and strongly endorsed the idea that microfinance should now leverage the new social enterprise development efforts. This study was made possible because of the willing help from the management of Grameen Bank and the various Grameen enterprises. I am grateful to Professor Yunus, Professor Rehman Sobhan, Faizur Razzaq and many others within the Grameen Family, and outside, for their critical inputs. Jennifer Meehan of Grameen Foundation has been immensely helpful with her comments and her meticulous attention to details.

I would like to stress that this document reflects entirely my personal views, based on data and information that was available for the period 2004 to 2006. We are, however, dealing with the development of Grameen social enterpises in a very dynamic context and many of them are still evolving, responding to a changing market as well as the emerging social scenario. The message nevertheless comes out very loud and clear: through a new breed of “social enterprises” we can definitely attain our goals of poverty alleviation in a more comprehensive, more business-like and cost-effective way.

M. Khalid Shams

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of Companies January 2009 ii

iii Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of Companies January 2009

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of Companies January 2009 �

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh through the Grameen Family of Companies

Building Social Enterprises as Business Ventures

By M. Khalid Shams

The experience of the Grameen Family of Companies, now numbering more than thirty, demonstrates that social enterprise in the fields of health, education, technology and beyond is not only a doable proposition, but a necessary one; it should be undertaken by successful microfinance institutions to leverage their existing microfinance operations and knowledge of the poor, especially the poorest, as Grameen Bank has done across a broad spectrum of social and economic sectors. It is not a question anymore of whether it should be done, but a question of how. The challenge is clear: to support a new breed of business ventures as efficient social enterprises, minimizing the operational risks and building them into financially sustainable ventures within the shortest possible timeframe.

Initiating Sustainable Social Enterprise in Bangladesh

For more than three decades, Grameen Bank has been pioneering programs to alleviate poverty. The bank began as an action-research project in 1976 and transformed into a bank in 1983, providing microcredit and related financial services targeting the rural poor in Bangladesh.1 Ninety-seven percent of the borrowers were village women, and they became shareholders of the bank. Because Grameen Bank was constituted as a “for-profit” organization owned by the poor, it became the first model of a kind of “social enterprise2”, more specifically a “social business3”, a term coined by Professor Muhammad Yunus in his book Creating a World Without Poverty.4

Grameen Bank and some of the more prominent Bangladeshi non-govermental organizations (NGOs), all of whom sought to combat poverty, were originally positioned at two extreme ends of a large spectrum when they began their operations. Grameen Bank was focused exclusively on microcredit for poverty alleviation in a ‘business-like’ way; it believed empowerment of the poor, particularly of women, was only feasible through a cost-effective, financially self-reliant mechanism. In comparison, most NGOs began with a social development agenda that depended

1. Grameen Bank’s statutory functions and the targeted clientele were specified in the 1983 Grameen Bank Ordinance, last revised in 2007, permitting Grameen Bank for the first time to expand its financial services in the municipal areas.2. A “social enterprise” is a business enterprise set up for the attainment of a social development objective (i.e. in education, health, nutrition, women’s empowerment) in a businesslike way that ultimately becomes financially self-sustaining. 3. A “social business” is a type of social enterprise. Professor Yunus proposes two types. First, “companies that focus on providing a social benefit rather than on maximizing profit for their owners, and that are owned by investors who seek social benefits…” Second, “profit-maximizing businesses that are owned by the poor or disadvantaged.” (Creating a World Without Poverty, p. 28)4. Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism, Muhammad Yunus, Public Affairs Books, New York, New York, 2007

2 Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of Companies January 2009

on large subsidies, including generous contributions from external donors. In the end, both ultimately helped facilitate the convergence of microcredit and social development. This convergence laid the groundwork for new social enterprises to form and grow.

What led to Grameen Bank’s movement towards a broader social development agenda? As Grameen microcredit expanded in the 1980s, it became clear that while microcredit was a prerequisite for poverty alleviation, it was more effective when the social development needs of women and their families were met at the same time. Natural calamities that come frequently in Bangladesh—floods, tornadoes and other disasters, along with traditional subjugation of rural women—signaled the need for urgent social development. While some studies showed that microcredit helped about 60 percent of Grameen Bank’s borrowers cross the poverty line

over time, 40 percent remained nearly as poor due to these natural disasters, the payment of dowries for marrying off daughters, and chronic illnesses. It became apparent that, to ensure sustainable growth and development, Grameen Bank borrowers needed access to better health, better housing, better schooling, better nutrition, and greater social participation.�

The bank also recognized that more than 80 percent of the Bangladeshi population was engaged primarily in agriculture and related

activities with low productivity, resulting in deeply entrenched poverty. Fisheries, livestock, and rural industries were the other traditional sectors of the economy where large numbers of people were trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. Application and management of new technologies by the poor themselves, or by institutions which could manage the technology on behalf of the poor, seemed the most appropriate means for raising productivity and creating better lives for the large numbers of rural poor.

The recognition and acceptance of two precepts—that microfinance was more effective when addressing social development needs of women and their families and that new technologies could directly raise the productivity of the rural poor—became the twin drivers of Grameen Bank’s social enterprises. This led to the emergence of the Grameen Family of Companies.

The Grameen Family of Companies

What is now termed as the “Grameen Family of Companies” has in fact emerged over time, with each social enterprise set up in response to a specific social development need or a particular social situation. Contrary to common belief, there is no evidence that new Grameen social enterprises were initiated by Grameen Bank following any master plan or blueprint. While there is now a large cluster of enterprises which carry the name “Grameen,” there is no special element

�. Seminal research in this connection was done by Helen Todd in her book Women at the Center—Grameen Bank Borrowers After One Decade, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1996.

“Microcredit turns on the economic engines among

the rejected population of society. Once a large

number of these tiny engines start to work, the

stage is set for big things.”

- Professor Yunus, Creating a World Without Poverty


that legally binds them together, although Professor Yunus chairs nearly all. Each has a mandate of its own, some focus very strongly on specific social issues, others on having an indirect social impact. A complete overview of the Grameen Family of Companies appears in Appendix A.

The “Grameen Companies” can be divided into the following five categories, which are not mutually exclusive:

Enterprises originating from operations within Grameen Bank. These are essentially enterprises born out of projects started by Grameen Bank. As operations were scaled up, each enterprise received a separate corporate identity as a not-for-profit. Each had a clear mandate for poverty alleviation, either directly or indirectly. Examples are Grameen Motsho o Poshushampad Foundation (the Fisheries and Livestock Foundation), Grameen Krishi Foundation (the Agriculture Foundation), Grameen Fund and Grameen Kalyan (Welfare).

Enterprises for Financing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Three enterprises fall into this category. Grameen Trust aids in international replication of the Grameen-based microcredit model for the direct alleviation of poverty. Grameen Fund provides venture financing for new technology-based micro-initiatives. Grameen Byabosha Bikash provides guarantees to Grameen Bank branches, enabling bigger enterprise loans for borrowers.

Social Development Enterprises. Described by Professor Yunus as “social consciousness driven” companies, this category represents the first generation of Grameen enterprises focused on purely social issues. The enterprises combine social development objectives (health, education, revival of the handloom industry, marketing of rural products, services or functions not performed by any other institution) with financial self-sufficiency. Examples are Grameen Shikkha (education), Grameen Kalyan (health insurance for the rural poor) and Grameen Uddog (rural handloom weavers).

New Technology Ventures. These enterprises introduce and apply new technologies capable of quickly raising the productivity of the poor and attaining socio-economic development on a more sustainable basis. Striking examples are the new information and communication-based technologies which allowed the poor to be connected to the global market for the first time. For instance, Grameenphone, a for-profit joint venture between Telenor of Norway and Grameen Telecom, a not-for-profit company, created a village phone program which had more than 300,000 subscribers at the end of 2006.

New Social Businesses. These enterprises combine social development objectives with profitability, ideally limiting the financial dividends paid to shareholders so that gains can be used to continue building the businesses. Thus, a social business might be defined as a non-loss, non-dividend business…ultimately, the surplus generated by the business is passed on to the target group of beneficiaries in forms such as lower prices, better service, and greater

“Is there a common thread that links all these

varied enterprises? Just one. They all share

the same goal: to improve life for the people

of Bangladesh, especially the poor.”


� Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of Companies January 2009

Comprehensive Health Insurance for the Rural Poor for a $2 Annual Premium

Grameen Kalyan (GK), a not-for-profit company originating from Grameen Bank, operates an innovative health care program out of 35 centers in 12 of the 64 districts in rural Bangladesh. For an annual premium of only $2, Grameen Bank borrowers and other rural inhabitants receive preventive and clinical health care services from qualified medical doctors and trained technical staff. In addition to the premium, subscribing families also pay a small fee for a doctor’s consultation, nominal expenses for lab tests and reduced costs for medicines. Patients who are not Grameen Bank borrowers pay a slightly higher premium and consultation fees.

In 2007 more than 321,000 patients received care, compared to 245,000 treated in 2004, an increase of 76 percent. As of 2007, the program had recovered 92 percent of its operational expenses, a significant achievement for any health care program*.

GK’s health care program recently has added more specialized, subsidized medical services including dentistry services; gynecological, pre-natal and ante-natal mother care; and intraocular lens transplants for treatment of cataracts which often afflict the elderly rural poor. The program is also considering an ear, nose and throat specialty. GK continues to innovate and expand services, even beyond its facilities; following the cyclonic storms that struck the coastal districts in November 2007, GK promptly mobilized and dispatched medical teams that provided emergency treatment to more than 20,000 people.

Project Analysis

While the operating expenses of a rural medical care program can be substantially recovered, the primary financial challenge is the upfront capital cost of setting up health care centers in remote locations. GK has opted for slow, steady growth, i.e. setting up 35 centers in 12 years. GK has been able to leverage the microfinance experience of Grameen Bank in implementing a program that is 90 percent operationally sustainable, while demonstrating the social impact of comprehensive health care on the lives of the rural poor.

Currently, efforts are being made to scale up GK. Funding is not a concern since GK has a significant financial surplus. The real challenge is operational—it has been difficult to persuade doctors to stay in the rural areas and, consequently, there has been a high turnover of

medical staff.

*An evaluation carried out by the Institute of Health Economics of Dhaka University concluded, “… the older centers of GK health programme have attained financial sustainability and the trends show that the newer centers will also attain financial sustainability in course of time.”

A Grameen Bank client receives preventive health care


accessibility.6 The surplus might also be reinvested for further expansion of the business. An example is Grameen Danone Foods Ltd., which limits its dividends payouts after initial investment costs have been fully recouped, and Grameen Health Care Services, whose sponsors place a cap on their profit-taking in order to reinvest in further expansion of the program. Currently, only these two companies, along with Grameen Bank, are actual social businesses as defined by Dr. Yunus.

These five categories of new social enterprises represent the unfolding of an unprecedented institution-building experiment designed to support poverty alleviation.

Performance Assessment Matrix

The results of this remarkable enterprise-building over the last two decades are assessed in terms of three distinct criteria: 1) the social development impact on the poverty alleviation of a targeted clientele group, 2) the profitability of the enterprise operations, i.e., the capacity to meet all operational expenses from operational income, and 3) the application, development and extension of technologies capable of increasing the productivity of the poor or the effectiveness of institutions engaged in poverty alleviation.

Results for each social enterprise by category are summarized in Appendix A.

Social Impact

In terms of social impact, these 20-odd enterprises, large and small, are all dedicated to the task of poverty alleviation, either directly or indirectly. Except for Grameen Bank, none of the social enterprises is directly owned by the beneficiaries themselves.7 Because each enterprise emerged out of a unique set of circumstances, their social results cannot be aggregated. Each was a product of a set of opportunities occurring at a certain time and place. They have followed different business paths; a few were closely aligned with Grameen Bank and provided services directly to its borrowers (Grameen Byabosha Bikash, Grameen Kalyan and Grameen Telecom, for example). Others have followed altogether independent paths. A few have grown very rapidly, while others have been constrained by resources or lack of market opportunities. But together these enterprises all clearly and very strongly converge around their principal social development objective, alleviation of poverty in Bangladesh.

6. Creating a World Without Poverty, Muhammad Yunus, page 24.7. Ownership by the poor is still perceived as an unfolding process in the development of social enterprises. Much will depend upon the development of the capital markets in Bangladesh. A further consideration is how shares of the social enterprises are allocated among millions of poor households. More recently, Grameen Bank has set up a separate ‘Investment Trust’ to facilitate poor people’s ownership of shares of GrameenPhone, the largest mobile phone operator in the country.The Trust will manage the portfolio on behalf of the Grameen borrowers, a unique initiative in the capital market of Bangladesh.

The establishment of numerous social

enterprises under the “Grameen” banner, set up

within the last two decades, has indeed been

the most significant institutional experiment in

social development undertaken in a business

like way.”

- M. Khalid Shams


One can begin to measure progress by examining changes in specific and measurable social indicators, such as employment generation, health improvement (i.e. declining mortality rates, contraception prevalence, nutrition), children attending schools, adult literacy and access to market. For example, to assess the direct impact of Grameen Kalyan’s health insurance program, indicators could include: 1) decline in mortality rates within a geographic area, 2) number of patients receiving diagnostic services in the health centers, and 3) cost-effectiveness of the health delivery system. The extensive financial resources of highly profitable enterprises such as Grameen Telecom, Grameen Knitwear, etc. can also be directed toward new development activities considered urgent: establishing new hospitals, extending IT education, and providing vocational training.

Financial Performance

In terms of operational profits and losses, the financial performance of the social enterprises during the period 2004 to 2006 falls into four categories.

First, there are those hugely profitable concerns. Grameen Telecom, Grameen Cybernet, Grameen Kalyan and Grameen Knitwear are the most profitable companies in this cluster. Grameen Telecom is the biggest, with its profits supplemented by regular dividends from Grameenphone as well. Grameen Shakti, with generous project aid at the start from external donors, has now built a very large capital base and has a rapidly expanding business marketing solar photovoltaic units for rural homes as well as biogas units.

Second, a relatively large cluster of social enterprises, while still small in revenue earnings or business turnover, could grow much faster with more investments. These include Grameen Fund, Grameen Motsho o Poshushampad Foundation, Grameen Uddog, Grameen Shamogree, Grameen Byabosha Bikash and Grameen Communications.8

Third, Two enterprises with 100 percent social development content—Grameen Trust and Grameen Shikkha—are managing endowment funds and are attempting to meet operational expenses from their own income.

Fourth, two companies with enormous potential for development and social impact have, unfortunately, accumulated losses. They are Krishi Foundation and Grameen Solutions. More competent management, revised business strategies and infusion of additional capital could lead to a turnaround for both.

See Appendix B for a detailed breakdown of financial results by enterprise.

8. The Fisheries and Livestock Foundation (GMPF) was able to source initial project financing from KFW, Germany, as well as FAO-UNDP. Grameen Uddog, which started with the export of “Grameen Check”, borrowed heavily from commercial banks and faced difficulty with the sudden decline of the export demand. Both Grameen Krishi Foundation and Grameen Solutions are still saddled with large debt burdens.


Integrated Fish Farming and Livestock Development for the Poor

Over a thousand years ago, ponds were dug out of the soil in northwest Bangladesh. Laying dormant for hundreds of years, in 1986 these government-owned ponds were leased to Grameen Bank which, in turn, established Grameen Motsho o Poshushampad Foundation (GMPF), or the Fisheries and Livestock Foundation, to manage the farms. Spread over more than 800 ponds encompassing 707 hectares of a fresh-water area in the northern districts of Bangladesh, the GMPF represents a new model of integrated fisheries-livestock production. GMPF targeted as fisheries-group members poor households used to eking out their subsistence by working traditional pond fisheries alone. Landless poor were guaranteed secure access to water resources in exchange for participating in the management and protection of the water bodies. GMPF provided technical support, including operation of hatcheries, production of hatchlings through induced spawning, provision of fishing nets, and appropriate feed and marketing.

Fish production rose dramatically from only 47 tons in 1985 (the year prior to Grameen Bank lease) to 1,160 tons in 2007. The 2,750 participating households, nearly half headed by women, receive 50 percent of the revenues earned from marketing the increased tonnage of fish. In 2007, each household received a profit of taka 15,000 ($230), significant incomes for these poor families.

In the last ten years, GMPF combined modern aquaculture with the development of higher yielding dairy cattle and the production, processing and marketing of milk, and provided microcredit for investments in fisheries and livestock. A $3.03 million grant from FAO-UNDP enabled the foundation to provide microfinance for fisheries-group members to purchase and rear crossbred livestock, e.g., milk cows, beef cattle, goats and sheep. Since fishing provided only seasonal employment, rearing livestock enabled the existing fisheries-group members to further supplement their incomes.

Project Analysis

Although GMPF has been able to ensure almost 100 percent recovery of all its loans for fisheries and livestock development, it has barely succeeded in meeting its operating expenses. The experiment with the Joyshagar Fish Farms, specifically the 50:50 sharing of profits with the poor households which assist in managing the fish ponds, has generated large incomes and social benefits. But further scaling up the program would require additional capital investments, which have not been forthcoming. The future of the fish farms also depends on the renewal of the lease agreements with the government, set to expire in 2010.

It is critical to note that GMPF has established a powerful model of technology-based social development. It has contributed three innovations to the fight to end poverty: 1) a technological innovation—intensive management of inputs required to increase production of the fish ponds, 2) a social innovation—organization of the poor households living around the ponds to participate in pond management for their own development; as a social enterprise, earnings were shared--50% to the community, 50% to the Foundation, and 3) while the poor gained incremental income from the fisheries, the decision to integrate a livestock element with the development of fisheries has resulted in much greater returns on investment, given the huge demand in urban and peri-urban areas for dairy products.

Men help fisheries-group members net their catch


A Social Business to Provide Nutrition to the Rural Poor

Grameen Danone Foods Ltd., a joint venture set up in 2006 between the French dairy giant and a consortium of four Grameen not-for-profit enterprises, is a bold experiment designed to meet the nutrition needs of malnourished rural children. The project’s “unique proximity” business model* was launched with an equity fund of taka 75 million (USD$1.15 million) shared equally by Grameen and Danone. The proximity model was established in Bogra, a northern river district with a high incidence of malnutrition that is known for producing the best yoghurt in Bangladesh. First, Danone engineers designed a small dairy plant with a production capacity of 6,000 kg of specially fortified yogurt per day. Next, Grameen Bank members within the community, mostly women from poor village households, were mobilized to participate. With microcredit from Grameen Bank, the members raised milk-producing cattle and sold the milk to the dairy plant for processing into yogurt. Finally, members were employed to sell the nutritious yogurt exclusively to community households with malnourished children. Sixty-five percent of the yogurt was refrigerated and sold through shops and stalls. The remaining 35 percent was sold by women who took the product to villages on a daily basis. The cost of each cup of yogurt was an affordable taka 5-7 (about 10 cents).

This proximity model contrasted sharply with large commercial dairy plants which procured milk locally, but sold it to the highly profitable urban market, effectively depriving rural children of this nutritious food.

Project Analysis

Trial production and marketing of yogurt began in 2007, but soaring prices of milk required an increase in the price of each cup to taka 8. Therefore, the marketing strategy and business plan had to be revised; at present a number of options are being considered. Yogurt may have to be re-combined or reconstituted while maintaining its nutritional content. Another option to meet rising costs may be to segment marketing at higher prices in urban areas where there is a strong demand for Danone yogurt while keeping prices lower in rural areas.

* “The existence of the yogurt plant will benefit the local economy both directly and indirectly, having a positive multiplier effect for many families,” Dr. Yunus writes. “This explains the way we describe the mission of Grameen Danone: ‘To reduce poverty by a unique proximity business model which will bring daily nutrition to the poor.’ The Grameen-Danone factory is not some distant corporate behemoth. It is a friend of the community and an integral and natural part of its social ecosystem”, Creating a World Without Poverty, Muhammad Yunus, page 158.

A child tastes yogurt made at the local dairy plant

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of Companies January 2009 9

Technology

A unique feature of the Grameen Family of Companies’ development experience is the introduction and application of appropriate technology aimed at quickly raising the productivity of the poor. Experimentation began first with the fisheries sector and extended to agriculture, two segments of the Bangladeshi economy where large numbers of the poor are engaged in subsistence-level operations. With the Grameen Fisheries and Livestock Foundation, modern aquaculture for raising the fish yields of the ponds was introduced. The foundation organized poor households located around the bodies of water and, with the aid of new management systems and a new production technology, quickly raised the income and welfare of the poor families. With the Grameen Agricultural Foundation, modern irrigation technology capable of raising rice and wheat yields and diversified cropping systems was introduced to subsistence farmers. Difficulties arose, however, when an appropriate social management system, particularly the farmer organizations, lagged behind.

Grameen further promoted introduction of new information and communication-based technologies through the formation of Grameenphone, which established a nationwide modern mobile telephone network starting in 1997. Grameen Telecom brought about a quiet revolution by facilitating Grameen Bank borrowers to become the “village phone ladies” of the country. These women used cell phones to create pay phone businesses, another striking example of how the introduction of a new technology is capable of rapidly increasing the income of the poor. Grameen Foundation has taken the Village Phone model beyond Bangladesh to countries including Uganda, Rwanda, and Cameroon.

Challenges and Solutions

In undertaking such a large number of social development ventures over a span of two decades, some errors in judgment and management lapses were inevitable. Within the Bangladesh socio-economic context, there were numerous risks which could not be anticipated. Here are some of the key challenges faced by the social enterprises.

• Ensuring the quality of sustainable corporate governance.• Ensuring effective supervision and maintaining adequate oversight by boards of directors, specifically over financial discipline.• Finding initial equity or seed funding, particularly for the not-for-profit entities. Borrowing from commercial sources for capital investments was found to be a risky and costly way of managing finances since social enterprises take longer to become viable.• Managing large technology-based joint ventures.

Various factors and circumstances combined to overcome these challenges and facilitate the creation of the social enterprises. Their operational success was either a function of their market niche, or the demand for products and services offered by them. In the case of the Grameen enterprises, the leadership provided by Professor Yunus and the institutional leverage of Grameen Bank were important preconditions. Here are other key factors that led to success:

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• When poverty alleviation was the strategic objective, two factors were key: 1) an initial endowment for equity finance or concessional funding to start, and 2) a microfinance program capable of generating surplus financial resources and much needed initial seed capital.

• The social mandate of each venture was clearly articulated, as were the products and services to be marketed. Realistic business plans outlined the venture’s distinct comparative advantage including a market assessment, the technological feasibility, a production plan, a sales and marketing strategy and a financial plan.

• A professionally competent management team committed to the social objectives of the enterprise was a prerequisite. A formal structure for corporate governance was established and prepared to exercise statutory oversight, regular supervision and

Segmented Marketing for Health Care

A segmented market approach and differential pricing policy for health services is a distinguishing feature of the Grameen Eye Hospitals, a social business as defined by Professor Yunus, which aims to provide eye care for the poor at affordable costs. The project design applied the “Robin Hood” principle, with higher income community members subsidizing the cost of treatment for the poor. Targeted clients were differentiated into five separate categories according to their income.*

The first Eye Hospital was established in November 2007 in the center of Bogra. A new hospital outside of town was opened in May 2008. Together, the hospitals are serving close to 300 patients per day, with even more, unused capacity in the new facility. Plans call for four more hospitals by 2011.

Another significant feature of the Grameen Eye Hospitals venture is the self-imposed restriction by the four Grameen sponsoring companies to place a cap on their profit-taking. Once the initial capital cost is recouped, the shareholders are committed to re-investing the bulk of their profits for further expansion of the program. Attaining financial viability is the best way to ensure the sustainability and the expansion of coverage to the targeted beneficiaries.

Project Analysis

The first Eye Hospital “broke even” on an operational basis just one year after opening. Two challenges face the second Eye Hospital: its out-of-town location, accessed by a road in very poor condition (it is currently under construction), and lack of knowledge about the new hospital. The hospital manager is planning an advertising effort once the road has been improved.

* The experience of the Arvind Eye Hospitals in India has shown that such a business approach enabled recovery of all operating and capital costs within five years.

A woman recovers from an eye care procedure

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of Companies January 2009 ��

management accountability. A financial control system ensured limited long-term financial liabilities, securing performing assets.

• The choice of an appropriate technology was key to quickly raising the income and productivity of the poor. In addition, a technology-based social enterprise was likely to be profitable in the short run and hence more sustainable. The appropriate technology established the credentials of the enterprise, created the confidence of social entrepreneurs and, more importantly, generated additional financial resources that could be used to expand the social development program.

• Enterprises that could leverage existing microfinance-related experience were likely to be more successful. Providing financial services to the poor working in agriculture, fisheries, livestock, rural industry and small enterprises became substantive programs for some of the earlier Grameen social ventures.

• Joint ventures between private entrepreneurs and multinationals facilitated the launch of technology-based social enterprises. While these proved to be more profitable ventures, negotiations with other entrepreneurs, especially large multinationals, required bargaining skills and the application of due diligence with the objective of a mutually beneficial partnership.9

Key Lessons Learned

The principal lessons are these:

• These enterprises have been designed and developed, each with a clearly articulated social mandate. They have acquired independent corporate identities. They have had both direct and indirect social development impact in varying degrees. They have clearly demonstrated that social development objectives can be achieved efficiently, in a businesslike way.

• The social enterprises have been leveraged by the massive microfinance platform of Grameen Bank and the guidance provided personally by Professor Yunus.

• Grameen Telecom, Grameen Knitwear, Grameen Cybernet, Grameen Shakti, all technology-based enterprises, have become hugely profitable, with large cumulative profits and retained earnings. Their accumulated profits have facilitated financing of other social business ventures and enhanced their capacity for future investments.

• Enterprises engaged primarily in social development i.e., education, health, Grameen Bank replications, while critical for alleviation of poverty, required start-up endowments or project grants by way of seed capital. This factor has limited their scalability over

9. There was an understanding between Telenor & Grameen Telecom that Telenor’s majority stake in Grameenphone will be reduced over time and Grameen Telecom will have the first right to purchase the shares.

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time. But they can gradually become operationally self-sufficient through prudent management of the seed funds.

• A significant initiative was the development of new financial services to meet the growing demand for credit by the more mature micro-borrowers and the emerging micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector. Grameen Fund and, in particular, Grameen Byabosha Bikash, have played a strategic role in this sector. These also have enormous potential for future growth.

• The primary concerns and risks involved in building the new enterprises centered around the task of ensuring quality of corporate governance, developing professional management, and exercise of timely supervision and oversight by the board of directors. Management of technology-based enterprises presented a more complex challenge. In case of Grameen Krishi Foundation, the choice of an inappropriate ‘deep tubewell’ technology and its mismanagement proved to be a cause of its immediate difficulties. In the case of joint ventures like Grameenphone and Grameen Cybernet, the partners were driven exclusively by the profit motive, subordinating the social development objectives.

Looking to the Future

There are a number of potential scenarios for the future of the Grameen Family of Companies and social enterprises more generally, ranging from a minimalist view to a more ambitious “social stock market” advocated by Professor Yunus. For example:

Scenario 1: With business as usual, the social enterprises generating a financial surplus through current operations would continue to operate as now, provided there is market demand for their goods and services. With surplus or retained earnings, they could also invest in new enterprises. Financial surpluses generated by the more profitable enterprises could provide the required seed capital for new social business ventures. Companies which have accumulated losses would have to be closed down.

Scenario 2: The success of existing Grameen enterprises and the campaign for social business could have a snowballing effect. There could be a surge of new social enterprises through other NGOs, and new collaborative partnerships between NGOs, multinationals and local entrepreneurs.

Scenario 3: Social enterprises in health, education, nutrition, environmental protection, etc. will have to provide quality services at affordable costs to those needing them most. Large MFIs which have successfully scaled up their operations can become the platforms for launching new social businesses, with the support of endowments or equity contributions from multinationals and philanthropists.


Providing Children with Opportunities for Education

Continuing education is a special need for the children of Grameen Bank members. To begin to meet that need, Grameen Shikkha (GS), or Grameen Education, was established in 1997 as a not-for-profit company to raise funds for a nationwide endowment program that would provide scholarships to poor children. The plan was to finance the scholarships out of the interest earned from fixed deposits kept with Grameen Bank branches, located mostly in remote rural areas; this would keep GS’s management and overhead costs to a minimum. In addition, the bank branches, located throughout the country, could assist in preparing profiles of educational institutions and in identifying eligible children.

To begin the program, GS’s first task was to raise contributions nationwide from individuals as well as institutions, and to manage the funds to provide the maximum number of scholarships. GS figured that a deposit of taka 50,000 (USD$770) would allow the endowment fund to provide a monthly stipend of taka 250 (USD$3.65) to a student.

But without any start-up capital, GS’s fund-raising task proved to be difficult. The biggest challenge was to identify interested, and socially motivated, sponsors, and to persuade them to contribute. Funds trickled in from individuals in Bangladesh and even abroad*. The first significant donation did not come until 2002--taka 100,000 (USD $1,540) for two scholarships—one for a boy and another for a girl in the sponsor’s home district. While the sponsor base has built slowly, by June 2008 the contributions of 150 sponsors have provided 2,000 scholarships annually to children in more than 54 districts of the country.

In addition to the growing scholarship program, GS also is managing early education and childhood development programs with significant community participation. In Gazipur, for example, there are three active programs: parenting education, a child development center, and a pre-school program. The project covers 86 villages, with 7,000 children enrolled. Teachers for the pre-school program and facilitators for the parenting program are members of the community, selected by a Village Development Committee based on their qualifications.

Project Analysis

The scholarship program is self-funded, and Shikkha underwrites the Village Development Committee in Gazipur, with parents paying nominal tuition. Grameen Bank is involved in several ways: it assists Shikkha with accounting services and provides information about the village programs at its center meetings. While village involvement is key to the pre-school and child development programs, reaching scale is difficult.

* Grameen Foundation has provided endowment grants to GS and several other MFIs that have adapted programs based on the GS model. A scholarship recipient studies her lessons at school

�� Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh Through the Grameen Family of Companies January 2009

Conclusions

In conclusion, the review of the Grameen experience demonstrates that social enterprise is not only a doable proposition, but a necessary one. It should be undertaken by successful microfinance institutions to leverage their existing microfinance operations across a broad spectrum of social and economic sectors. It is not a question anymore of whether it should be done, but a question of how. The challenge is clear: to design a new breed of corporate entities as efficient social businesses, minimizing the operational risks and building them into financially sustainable ventures within the shortest possible time frame.

The immediate need is to provide them with endowments or social equity capital, not with loan funds as was done in the past. These sources can come from social entrepreneurs, financial institutions, or multinationals interested in social business and/or expanding business at the ‘base of the pyramid’. It will call for skillful negotiations and designing new business ventures; it will call for powerful bargaining by social entrepreneurs.

There is a vast chasm that separates the funders of social enterprises from potential social entrepreneurs. The task is to build bridges between the two key players; this is where microfinance institutions can play a central role as campaigners for social business and mobilizers of resources for potential social enterprises.

“With globalization threatening to wipe out the weak

economies and poor people from the economic map, it is

time to consider the case of social business enterprises more

seriously than we ever did before.”



Author Biography

M. Khalid Shams is internationally recognized for his extensive experience in planning and managing development programs within both government and non-government sectors in Bangladesh and other Asian countries.

His early career in Bangladesh included senior executive positions in the Ministry of Agriculture and the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation. In 1977 he founded the Civil Officers Training Academy, where he oversaw the development of the new curriculum for the Foundation Training of an integrated civil service.

His close relationship with Grameen Bank and its founder, Professor Muhammad Yunus, began in the early 1980’s. For the past 20 years, he has played a key leadership role in the development of not-for-profit as well as for-profit companies, representing a new genre of social enterprises. During this time he has served as Deputy Managing Director of Grameen Bank; Managing Director of Grameen Telecom; Board Chair of Grameenphone Ltd., which pioneered the village phone program in collaboration with Grameen Telecom; and Founder/Managing Director of Grameen Uddog, which has successfully marketed Grameen Check, the traditional handwoven fabric of Bangladesh. His numerous board positions include membership on the Board of Trustees of Grameen Trust and member director of Grameen Fund, Grameen Shakti, Grameen Solutions Ltd., Grameen Capital Management Ltd., and the Shakti Foundation, an urban microfinance program. He has recently joined the government-sponsored Small & Medium Enterprise Foundation as a board member.

Internationally, Mr. Shams was the Coordinator of Research in Social Development Management for the Asian and Pacific Development Center, and he led the first replication of Grameen Bank-based microcredit projects in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Mr. Shams holds an M.A. in Political Science from Dhaka University and an M.P.A. in Economic Development from Harvard University. He makes his home in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Slno

Nam

e of

En

terp

rise

Year

Cor

pora

te

Stat

usM

anda

te *

*Ta

rget

ed c

lient

ele

Perf

orm

ance

Ana

lysi

sC

urre

nt S

tatu

sSo

cial

Im

pact

¹Pr

ofita

bilit

y ²

Tech

nolo

gy

App

licat

ion

³1.

Gra

mee

n Tr

ust

1989

Not

for p

rofit

To sp

read

Gra

mee

n B

ank

appr

oach

gl

obal

ly, a

nd o

ffer fi

nanc

ial a

nd

tech

nica

l sup

port

to G

ram

een

repl

icat

ions

NG

Os r

eplic

atin

g G

ram

een

Ban

k ap

proa

ch

wor

ldw

ide

VH

LN

Glo

bal n

etw

ork

esta

blis

hed

for s

ucce

ssfu

l re

plic

atio

n of

G

ram

eenc

redi

t2.

Gra

mee

n K

rishi

(A

gric

ultu

ral)

Foun

datio

n

1991

Not

for p

rofit

Pove

rty a

llevi

atio

n th

roug

h in

crea

sed

crop

pro

duct

ion,

and

mar

ketin

g of

fa

rm p

rodu

ce; i

ntro

duct

ion

of n

ew

irrig

atio

n-ba

sed

tech

nolo

gy to

rais

e fa

rm p

rodu

ctio

n

Smal

l & la

ndle

ss

farm

ers

VH

AL

VH

Bei

ng re

desi

gned

in

vie

w o

f los

ses;

de

ep tu

bew

ell

tech

nolo

gy fo

und

inap

prop

riate

3.

Gra

mee

n U

ddog

1993

Not

for p

rofit

To re

vive

the

tradi

tiona

l han

dloo

m

indu

stry

in ru

ral B

angl

ades

h;

deve

lop

new

mar

ket o

ppor

tuni

ties b

y lin

king

han

dloo

m w

eave

rs w

ith th

e bu

rgeo

ning

gar

men

t ind

ustry

Trad

ition

al

hand

loom

wea

vers

, im

pove

rishe

d be

caus

e of

gro

win

g un

empl

oym

ent

VH

LL

Ope

ratio

ns a

re

now

bei

ng m

erge

d w

ith G

ram

een

Sham

ogre

e

4.G

ram

een

Mot

sho

(Fis

herie

s) &

Po

shus

ham

pad

(Liv

esto

ck)

Foun

datio

n

1994

Not

for p

rofit

Bro

ad p

over

ty a

llevi

atio

n go

al

thro

ugh

the

intro

duct

ion

of

aqua

cultu

re a

nd n

ew te

chno

logy

for

rais

ing

fish

prod

uctio

n

Land

less

and

fis

hing

com

mun

ity

livin

g ar

ound

pon

ds

VH

LH

See

case

stud

y

�.G

ram

een

Fund

(s

ocia

l ven

ture

fu

nd)

owns

shar

es in

:

1994

Not

for p

rofit

Vent

ure

finan

cing

to p

rom

ote

smal

l m

ediu

m e

nter

pris

es th

roug

h eq

uity

fin

anci

ng a

nd lo

ans

Smal

l and

med

ium

en

trepr

eneu

rsH

LV

HM

icro

loan

s &

equi

ty fi

nanc

ing

has s

paw

ned

smal

l & m

ediu

m

ente

rpris

es

(a)

Gra

mee

n C

yber

net

Ltd.

19

96Fo

r pro

fitTo

pro

vide

inte

rnet

serv

ices

in

Dha

ka a

nd re

st o

f the

cou

ntry

and

pr

omot

e de

velo

pmen

t of I

CT

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an m

iddl

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ass

LV

HV

HPi

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red

inte

rnet

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e; c

onfin

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D

haka

city

onl

y(b

)G

ram

een

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k Lt

d.Fo

r pro

fitTo

man

ufac

ture

, mar

ket

elec

troni

c an

d el

ectri

cal g

oods

and

und

erta

ke

R&

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n el

ectro

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Urb

an m

iddl

e cl

ass

LH

HSm

all s

cale

op

erat

ion

Appe

ndix

A: O

verv

iew of

Gra

mee

n Fam

ily of

Com

panie

s

Key

:

L Lo

wH

H

igh

VH

Ve

ry h

igh

N

Non

eA

L A

ccum

ulat

ed lo

ss

Not

es:

1. S

ocia

l im

pact

ass

essi

ble

in te

rms o

f (a)

out

reac

h &

pro

gram

me

cove

rage

(b) d

irect

inte

rven

tions

in so

cial

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ors i

.e. h

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utrit

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mpl

oym

ent

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gene

ratio

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hose

hav

ing

an in

dire

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pact

are

cat

egor

ised

L.

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pera

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fits a

s ind

icat

ed in

bal

ance

shee

t. Fo

r yea

rs 2

004,

200

� an

d 20

06.

3. T

echn

olog

ical

impa

ct a

sses

sed

in te

rms o

f ben

efits

from

tech

nolo

gy g

oing

dire

ctly

to th

e po

or, o

r ind

irect

ly th

roug

h te

chno

logy

app

licat

ion

at e

nter

pris

e le

vel.

*

Ope

ratio

nal v

iabi

lity

mea

ns a

bilit

y to

mee

t all

oper

atio

nal e

xpen

ses o

f the

com

pany

from

its o

pera

tiona

l inc

ome.

Gra

mee

nPho

ne h

as b

een

kept

out

side

the

purv

iew

of t

his l

ist.

* *

Fun

ctio

ns in

dica

ted

in th

e M

emor

andu

m o

f Ass

ocia

tion.

Gra

mee

nPho

ne h

as b

een

excl

uded

from

this

list

bec

ome

it fu

nctio

ns li

ke a

ny o

ther

tele

phon

e op

erat

or w

ith in

depe

nden

t man

agem

ent.

�� Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh: The Grameen Family of Companies January 2009

Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh: The Grameen Family of Companies January 2009 ��

Slno

Nam

e of

En

terp

rise

Year

Cor

pora

te

Stat

usM

anda

te *

*Ta

rget

ed c

lient

ele

Perf

orm

ance

Ana

lysi

sC

urre

nt S

tatu

sSo

cial

Im

pact

¹Pr

ofita

bilit

y ²

Tech

nolo

gy

App

licat

ion

³6.

Gon

osha

stha

ya

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mee

n Te

xtile

M

ills

199�

For p

rofit

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rovi

de m

echa

nise

d dy

ing,

pr

oces

sing

, fini

shin

g fo

r han

d an

d m

achi

ne m

ade

cotto

n fa

bric

; and

to

faci

litat

e de

velo

pmen

t of r

ural

ha

ndlo

om in

dust

ry

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dy m

ade

garm

ents

and

te

xtile

indu

stry

; al

so h

andl

oom

w

eave

rs

HA

LV

HG

ram

een

Udd

og

has d

ecid

ed to

w

ithdr

aw fr

om th

is

join

t ven

ture

7.G

ram

een

Tele

com

199�

Not

for p

rofit

To p

rom

ote

pove

rty a

llevi

atio

n th

roug

h IC

T de

velo

pmen

t, vi

llage

ph

ones

for G

B b

orro

wer

s, an

d ve

ndor

of N

okia

GB

bor

row

ers a

s V

P op

erat

ors

VH

VH

H

8.G

ram

een

Sham

ogre

e (P

rodu

cts)

1996

Not

for p

rofit

To m

arke

t gar

men

ts m

ade

with

ha

ndw

oven

fabr

ic a

nd o

ther

pr

oduc

ts; o

pera

te “

Mai

nam

ati”

co

ld st

orag

e; m

anag

e on

con

tract

C

hitta

gong

pac

kage

s fac

tory

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an m

iddl

e cl

ass

cust

omer

s; p

otat

o gr

ower

s of C

omill

a di

stric

t

HL

HSu

cces

sful

ly

mar

kete

d ga

rmen

ts

mad

e w

ith

Gra

mee

n ch

eck

9.G

ram

een

Shak

ti (E

nerg

y)19

96N

ot fo

r pro

fitTo

pro

mot

e an

d m

arke

t ren

ewab

le

ener

gy in

rura

l are

as i.

e so

lar p

v,

biom

ass,

bio-

dige

ster

s

Low

& m

iddl

e in

com

e ru

ral

hous

ehol

ds

VH

HV

HM

arke

ting

mod

el

for s

olar

PV

uni

ts

succ

essf

ully

es

tabl

ishe

d in

rura

l ar

eas

10.

Gra

mee

n K

alya

n (W

elfa

re)

1996

Not

for p

rofit

To p

rovi

de lo

ans/

gran

ts fo

r GB

staf

f; w

elfa

re, h

ealth

car

e se

rvic

es to

GB

m

embe

rs/s

taff,

edu

catio

nal f

acili

ties

for c

hild

ren

of G

B m

embe

rs

thro

ugh

scho

lars

hips

& lo

ans a

nd

inve

stm

ents

and

gra

nts t

o ot

her

soci

al e

nter

pris

es

GB

mem

bers

, GB

st

aff,

Gra

mee

n en

terp

rises

for

inve

stm

ents

VH

VH

LSe

e ca

se st

udy

11.

Gra

mee

n K

nitw

ear

Ltd.

1997

For p

rofit

To m

anuf

actu

re k

nitw

ear f

or

100

perc

ent e

xpor

t and

pro

vide

em

ploy

men

t to

rura

l wom

en fr

om

low

inco

me

hous

ehol

ds

Buy

ers i

n Eu

rope

&

USA

LV

HV

H

12.

Gra

mee

n C

omm

unic

atio

ns

1997

Not

for p

rofit

To c

ompu

teris

e G

B b

ranc

hes a

nd

beco

me

outs

ourc

ee o

f all

data

pr

oces

sing

wor

k of

GB

; to

prom

ote

ICT

proj

ects

in ru

ral a

reas

; and

to

dev

elop

softw

are

prod

ucts

&

serv

ices

GB

Man

agem

ent

HL

VH

Succ

essf

ully

au

tom

ated

GB

MIS

&

acc

ount

s; p

ilot

IT p

roje

cts

Slno

Nam

e of

En

terp

rise

Year

Cor

pora

te

Stat

usM

anda

te *

*Ta

rget

ed c

lient

ele

Perf

orm

ance

Ana

lysi

sC

urre

nt S

tatu

sSo

cial

Im

pact

¹Pr

ofita

bilit

y ²

Tech

nolo

gy

App

licat

ion

³13

.G

ram

een

Shik

kha

(Edu

catio

n)19

97N

FPTo

man

age

a na

tionw

ide

scho

lars

hip

prog

ram

me

for p

oor s

tude

nts,

to

desi

gn a

nd o

pera

te e

arly

chi

ld h

ood

deve

lopm

ent &

pre

-sch

ool e

duca

tion

deve

lopm

ent p

rogr

amm

e fo

r chi

ldre

n fr

om p

oor f

amili

es, a

nd to

pilo

t lev

el

Ars

enic

inst

igat

ion

proj

ects

Seco

ndar

y, h

ighe

r se

cond

ary

scho

ol

stud

ents

, rur

al

child

ren

from

poo

r fa

mili

es, a

nd th

e ar

seni

c af

fect

ed

rura

l pop

ulat

ion

VH

LL

See

case

stud

y

14.

Gra

mee

n C

apita

l M

anag

emen

t Ltd

1998

For p

rofit

Mer

chan

t ban

king

, with

inve

stm

ent

in sh

ares

, sto

cks,

capi

tal m

arke

t, to

m

anag

e po

rtfol

io o

f priv

ate

inve

stor

s

Inst

itutio

nal &

pr

ivat

e in

vest

ors i

n th

e ca

pita

l mar

ket.

HH

N

1�.

Gra

mee

n So

lutio

ns

Ltd.

(for

mer

ly

Gra

mee

n So

ftwar

e Lt

d.)

1999

For p

rofit

To d

esig

n, d

evel

op, s

ell s

oftw

are

for l

ocal

mar

ket &

exp

orts

, pro

vide

in

tegr

ated

IT so

lutio

ns, a

nd to

pr

omot

e IT

dev

elop

men

t

Cor

pora

te

cust

omer

s of

softw

are

& IT

so

lutio

ns

LA

LV

HR

ecap

italis

atio

n,

new

bus

ines

s pla

n be

ing

prop

osed

by

new

man

agem

ent

16.

Gra

mee

n B

yabo

sha

Bik

ash

(Bus

ines

s pr

omot

ion)

2001

Not

for p

rofit

To p

rovi

de g

uara

ntee

aga

inst

loan

s by

GB

bra

nche

s for

fina

ncin

g ne

w

vent

ures

, big

ger i

nves

tmen

ts; t

o fa

cilit

ate

deve

lopm

ent o

f sm

all

ente

rpris

e

GB

bor

row

ers

capa

ble

of

inve

stin

g m

ore

than

Tk

30k

VH

HL

New

mod

el

esta

blis

hed

for

finan

cing

of

smal

l & m

ediu

m

ente

rpris

es; b

ig

impa

ct in

term

s of

MSM

E fin

anci

ng17

.G

ram

een

IT P

ark

2001

For p

rofit

To p

rom

ote

IT d

evel

opm

ent b

y pr

ovid

ing

wor

k sp

ace

and

requ

ired

ICT

infr

astru

ctur

e to

indi

vidu

al

entre

pren

eurs

.

IT e

ntre

pren

eurs

--

----

Clo

sed

oper

atio

ns;

man

agem

ent

trans

ferr

ed

18.

Gra

mee

n In

form

atio

n H

ighw

ay

2001

For p

rofit

To

pro

vide

inte

rnet

serv

ice

&

conn

ectiv

ity n

atio

nwid

e G

ener

al P

opul

atio

n--

----

Dor

man

t

19.

Gra

mee

n St

ar

Educ

atio

n20

02Fo

r pro

fitTo

pro

vide

IT tr

aini

ng: c

ertifi

cate

, di

plom

a &

deg

ree

Educ

ated

un

empl

oyed

you

th--

----

Dor

man

t

20.

Gra

mee

n H

ealth

C

are

Serv

ices

Ltd

.20

06--

To p

rovi

de m

edic

are

to th

e po

or a

nd

to se

t up

eye

hosp

itals

in d

istri

cts

Rur

al &

urb

an p

oor

VH

LV

HSe

e ca

se st

udy

21.

Gra

mee

n D

anon

e Fo

ods L

td.

2006

For p

rofit

To se

t up

dairy

, foo

d pr

oces

sing

pl

ants

for n

utiti

on o

f rur

al c

hild

ren

Mal

nour

ishe

d ru

ral

child

rens

VH

--V

HSe

e ca

se st

udy

�� Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh: The Grameen Family of Companies January 2009

Sl N

oEn

terp

rise

2004

200�

2006

Rem

arks

Inco

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