DHAKA(Reuters)-GrameenBank,famousforpioneeringmicro-creditprogramsinBangladesh,haslaunchedanewideatoempowerthepoor:providingbeggarswithmobilephonessotheycansellarovingserviceforcash."Beggarsaretheonegroupsofarleftoutofthebank’slendingprogramandtheydeservetobepartofournetwork,"saidDipalChandraBarua,deputymanagingdirectorofGrameenBank.
"Wewon’taskthemtostopbeggingimmediatelybutwouldencouragethemtoaskpeople...iftheyneedtomakeaphonecall...Themoneythebeggarsgetfromcallswouldgivethemextraincome--ofwhichtheywilluseaparttoreimbursethecostofthecellphonetothebank."BeggarswouldneedtobeamemberofaGrameenBankprojecttobeeligibletogetamobilephone.Eachphonewillcostthem8,500taka($143),repayableovertwoyearsininterest-freeinstallments.Theywouldalsopayasubsidizedmonthlyservicechargeof152taka.(听英文53684)
乡村银行主意多乞丐脱贫靠手机
达卡：孟加拉国的乡村银行以首创小额贷款项目而闻名，如今它又启动了新的扶贫计划：向乞丐们提供手机，使其通过提供移动电话服务来挣钱。乡村银行的常务副董事长蒂巴尔·臣德拉·巴路瓦说：“迄今为止，乞丐是
