Palli Daridro Bimochon Foundation () is a

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

government foundation. It was established in 1999 in a law passed by the national parliament of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

with the goal of eradicating poverty. The current chairman of the foundation is Rezaul Ahsan.

History

Palli Daridro Bimochon Foundation (PDBF), or Foundation for the Elimination of

Rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

Poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

was established in 1999 by the Parliament of Bangladesh. It is a statutory,

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

committed to promoting the economic and social advancement of society's poorest members. The foundation functions as a

micro-finance Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

institution (MFI) with the goal of delivering cost-effective, micro-finance services to indigent rural clients. PDBF's first projects were the rural development projects RD-2 RPP and RD-12, and the rural finance program. Since 1984, the Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) has administered these projects with financial and technical assistance from the

Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was merged into the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2013 by the federal governmen ...

(CIDA). These early

public welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

programs were the first to be transformed into an autonomous permanent organization called the Rural Poverty Alleviation Foundation (RPAF). The micro-finance movement has shown that when financial services are available, a rich market economy can exist among the poor. The poor are an active group in any economy, and PDBF has shown that businesses can also benefit when the needs of the poor are met. In addition to providing micro-credit, PDBF operates

micro-enterprise A micro-enterprise (or microenterprise) is generally defined as a small business employing nine people or fewer, and having a balance sheet or turnover less than a certain amount (e.g. €2 million or PhP 3 million). The terms microenterprise and ...

loans.

Donors

According to a 2003 analysis conducted by CIDA, PDBF's only donor is the Asia branch of the CIDA.

Controversy

In 2014, the managing director of the foundation, Mahbubur Rahman, was interrogated by

Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission The Anti Corruption Commission ( bn, দুর্নীতি দমন কমিশন) ''often abbreviated:'' ACC ( bn, দুদক) is the principal government agency against corruption in Bangladesh. History The Anti Corruption Commissio ...

over allegations of

graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption *Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant ti ...

in the foundation's solar energy project. Allegations of corruption dogged the foundation's distribution of small loans.

References

1999 establishments in Bangladesh Foundations based in Bangladesh Government agencies of Bangladesh Organisations based in Dhaka {{Bangladesh-org-stub