connecting communities, transforming lives

Back in 1997 telephone was a luxury product in the context of urban areas of Bangladesh and was a fairytale for the village. To get a connection you not only needed money but also need either get a blessing from a high official of the state-owned telephone company. Enter Professor Muhammad Yunus who challenged himself in removing this barrier. With his high success in working with his microcredit program, Grameen Telecom was created to devise a product known as “Village Phone”. The initial plan was to establish one phone for one or two consecutive villages considering customers’ demand and profitability of village phone operators. The village phone program was commercially inaugurated in style on 26 March 1997 when the first village phone lady Ms. Laily Begum from Patira, Dakhinkhan called the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Through the Village Phone program, more people like Ms. Laily could purchase cell phones and start mobile phone businesses in their villages with microloans. The goals were to empower rural women, close the gap between rural and urban areas, and create job opportunities. Due to its great success, the Village Phone concept has been duplicated in seven more countries. More Than 83,000 villages in the 64 districts of Bangladesh came under the Rural Phone Program.