My current mental list of things that are most fantastic includes Fridays at 5 PM, Rosewood Bar, and $5 entry fees for entrepreneurial events. You’ll have to wait until next Wednesday for the last two but the promise of the opening of a local Grameen Bank could make it worthwhile. The non-profit microfinance organization, which works to combat poverty by offering small loans without requiring collateral, will be the 
second such bank to open in the US since founder Muhammad Yunus began offering loans to groups of Bangladeshi women in the ’70s. (Borrowers’ experiences with Grameen America in NY are highlighted in Gayle Ferraro’s film To Catch a Dollar, whose Sundance premier was reviewed here.)
A local Grameen branch is slated to launch in August to begin offering a few hundred loans on a monthly basis to Bay Area workers. The young professionals event starting at 6 PM on the 26th is intended to generate evangelism for and dialogue around the bank (and imbibing on Broadway is a good way to get ‘em talking).