Banker of the Poor

Author: Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh), translated by Wu Shihong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: Autobiography of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Yunus's ideals have already had a huge impact in the Third World. Just listening to his ideals is inspiring—to fight for a "poverty-free" world by tackling the root causes of poverty, just as the American success myths are. —The Washington Post
Grameen's achievements are dazzling. It is a truly effective aid program. —The New York Times
Muhammad Yunus is a practical idealist who has improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people in Bangladesh and around the world. —The Los Angeles Times
In 1983, Muhammad Yunus founded Grameen Bank, focusing on providing microloans to the poorest people in Bangladesh. His goal was to help the poor achieve individual entrepreneurship, enabling them to permanently escape poverty. This ideal was born in 1976, when he lent $27 of his own money to 42 rural women who made bamboo stools. With just a little money, they could buy raw materials and start a business. Yunus's microloans helped them permanently escape poverty.
Yunus firmly believed that borrowing was a basic human right, and he proposed a simple yet wise solution to poverty: provide loans tailored to the poor, teach them a few effective financial principles, and then they could help themselves. Yunus's theory has been proven by practice. Grameen Bank has provided $3.8 billion in loans to 2.4 million rural Bangladeshi families. Today, more than 250 institutions are operating based on the Grameen model in nearly 100 countries, and Grameen Bank is leading the global movement to eliminate poverty through microfinance.