Impact of micro-credit programs of leading NGOs/MFIs on poverty alleviation in Bangladesh

Micro-credit has been considered as an economic and social mechanism for poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. It is necessary to evaluate the performance of the micro-credit programs of different NGOs/MFIs in alleviating the poverty situation in Bangladesh. The present study considered six leading NGOs namely Grameen Bank, BRAC, ASA, CARE international, PROSHIKA and TMSS for in-depth analysis. A total 406 credit receivers were selected randomly for the study. Two-level random intercept binary logistic regression analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to identify the determinants of change in poverty situation. Alongside the perceived change in poverty situation this study devised a mechanism to estimate the actual change in poverty situation based on the changes in wealth and education levels of the households. The study revealed that 76.1 percent respondents could change their poverty situation (perceive change in poverty situation). About 50.5 percent respondents safely overcame the poverty situation (estimated change in poverty situation). The contributing factors for change in poverty situation were amount of loan, different NGOs, satisfaction level, taken loan before and main means of asset change. Significant community level variation was found. Finally, this study recommended some policies.