12 Social Loan Opportunities

In the early 1990s, Muhammad Yunus founded the Grameen Bank, which at the time -- due to its social loan opportunities -- revolutionized the way in which business people consider people in the Majority World as a profitable market in and of themselves. The Grameen Bank uses a system of peer-pressure to allow for collatoral-free microcredit.

By creating innovative and purpose-driven products, loan providers targeting the bottom of the pyramid prove that it pays off -- socially and economically. That profit, however, is not the only bottom line. Social and environmental factors are increasingly important, of course in the social business space, but also for corporates who are merging toward a middle-ground.

This top list of social loan opportunities explores a different way to lend whether it be through community, microfinance or an apt mix of both.