Muhammad Yunus, Father of Microcredit, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laurerate
Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi banker and economist known to many as “The Banker to the Poor”. He was previously a Professor of Economics and is famous for his successful application of microcredit – the extension of small loans. These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans.
Yunus is also the founder of Grameen Bank. He is the author of “Banker to the Poor” and a founding board member of Grameen Foundation. The success of the Grameen model of microfinancing has inspired similar efforts in a hundred countries throughout the developing world and even in industrialized nations, including the United States. Many, but not all, microcredit projects also retain its emphasis on lending specifically to women. More than 94% of Grameen loans have gone to women, who suffer disproportionately from poverty and who are more likely than men to devote their earnings to their families.
Yunus is one of the founding members of Nelson Mandela’s Global Elders program. He also serves on the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation, a public charity created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support United Nations causes.
