Muhammad Yunus

Founder of Grameen Bank and author of “Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty" 

This is the story of Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner and the founder of Grameen Bank. Yunus created a new category of banking by granting millions of small loans to poor people with no collateral—helping to establish the microcredit movement across the developing world.  

After studying economics in the United States Muhammad Yunus went home to Bangladesh to help the rehabilitation after the liberation of the country.  

A shift occurred at a point when he didn't feel the understanding and knowledge of economics from the university course he was teaching was applicable to Bangladesh, which at that time was rated as the poorest country in the world. Yunus didn't feel he was making a difference. 

"The least I as a human being can do is to help just one single person, every single day"

Outside the university campus in Jobra, Muhammad Yunus discovered that very small loans could make a disproportionate difference to a poor person. Jobra women who made bamboo furniture had to take out unmanageable loans for buying bamboo to pay their profits to the moneylenders. The first loan Yunus gave out (USD 27.00 from his own pocket) was given to 42 women in the village. The women in turn made a net profit of USD 0.02 each on the loan.

While traditional banks were not interested in making tiny loans at reasonable interest rates to the poor due to high repayment risks, Yunus believed that given the chance the poor would repay the borrowed money and hence microcredit could be a viable business model. This idea proved to be a good one. Grameen Bank was born and has since the start in 1976 provided 4.7 billion USD to 4.4 million families in Bangladesh. (Equivalent to each family getting $1000. Paying back $10 an interest rate at 1%)

Muhammad Yunus' actions and successes with Grameen Bank have since inspired others to do the same, and the economic tool of micro financing has proven to be one of the strongest in the battle against poverty around the World. 
 

"Credit should be accepted as a human right”

According to Muhammad Yunus the reason for microfinance being so powerful is the ownership and empowerment created when you see possibilities and show trust to even the poorest of the world. He believes that everyone rich and poor has the same capabilities and should have the same possibilities for creating a living on their own.  

Muhammad Yunus is a great example of a man that made it far by believing and by following up on his ideas and dreams. He's a do'er and he dares to do.