Many have criticized President Clinton’s welfare reform plan which cuts federal cash assistance to women and children without guaranteeing jobs that will lift families out of poverty. One alternative to welfare that’s gaining popularity and success around the world is micro-lending, providing small, short term loans to women to help them start and sustain small businesses. It started in Bangladesh, where a man named Muhammad Yunus founded the Grameen Bank to make loans to people who have no credit history and no collateral, and now similar lending programs are underway in the united states.