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fatema visits the home of an elderly villager , noorjahan , who wants to call relatives living in dhaka , 40 miles away . it was noorjahans son sharif who urged fatema to start her cell phone business , and the family is now a regular client . in 1998 she bought a cell phone , through a nonprofit program set up by bangladeshs grameen bank , in partnership with a cellular company called grameen phone . their aim was to sell mobile phones to rural women to provide them with a business opportunity and link their neighbors to the wider world . fatima took out a loan for $400 from grameen bank , on a payback system of 400 taka a week , about $8 , over four years . she paid off the loan in one year . her income exceeds $700 a year , in a country where the annual per capita income is about $300 . today , in her mid 30s , fatema is one of dhaluarchars most prosperous residents . dhaluarchar , bangladesh . 2000 . ? |
