The Role of Islamic Financial Institutions in resource Mobilization and Poverty Alleviation in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study of Rural Development Scheme (RDS) of Islamic Bank Bangladesh Ltd. (IBBL)

Agriculture, or more specifically, the rural sector, occupies an important place in the economy of Bangladesh. Unfortunately, the majority of rural people live below the poverty line. Due to the dearth of required employment opportunities a bulk of the labor force is either unemployed or without work. Of the most effective measures to alleviate this economic gap, provision of credit to the needy and the hardcore poverty group is considered as the most significant since it allows the poor to break away their dependence on traditional moneylenders and mobilize their own resources for income and employment-generating activities. This paper analyzes several studies which evaluate the achievement of NGOs and MFOs (Microfinance Organizations), including the Grameen Bank, ultimately concluding that models like the Grameen Bank are most successful in empowering the rural poor and bettering the general economy of rural areas.