BB CITIZENSHIP: POVERTY James Hong

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR INVOLVED IN POVERTY Muhammad Yunus was born on 28th June 1940 to a family of 9 children. His mother was a jeweller, and the family was well off, compared to the other families in Chittagong, India.

His pursuit of studies in Economics eventually earned him a PHD in economics, as well as the position of assistant professor at Middle Tennessee State University.

Eventually, he headed the economics department of Chittagong University.

INSPIRATION FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

During a trip to a university, Muhammad Yunus visited the poorest households in a village near the university, and found that the residents were too poor to be able to take loans from banks, as the banks were worried that these poorer residents were unable to repay the loans. However, Yunus observed how those few that did receive loans worked hard to make the best of the loan and repay their debtors, and realised that it was only through loans that they were able to make a substantial profit and possibly bring them out of their poverty.

And thus, he had the idea to set up a firm to create microcredits, which are similar to loans but on a much smaller scale, and open to these poor residents to help them make a profit from these loans and bring them out of poverty.

CONTRIBUTIONS AS SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR

Muhammad Yunus set up the Grameen Bank as a means to create a mutually beneficial relationship between one receiving the loan and one lending it, as the interest rate is charged at a reasonable rate and the amount lent is small, which is what conventional banks attempt to avoid because of accountability issues.

He has also attempted to break existing social discriminations against women in Bangladesh by encouraging them to borrow money from him to start businesses. In fact, this practice prompted conservative clergies to threaten to deny women the right to a muslim burial should they borrow from Grameen Bank.

IMPACT AND ACHIEVEMENTS• In 2006, Muhammad Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to curb poverty in Bangladesh and other countries.

• As of October, 2011, it has 8.349 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2,565 branches, GB provides services in 81,379 villages, covering more than 97 percent of the total villages in Bangladesh. It has also branched out into 12 other countries

•The bank currently lends more than $500 million a year with a repayment rate of better than 97%

SOURCES http://www.grameen-info.org https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/mygsb/faculty/research/pubfiles/848/Grameen_Bank_v04.pdf

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/grameen-bank-history/

Group members: Joshua Lee Cheng Jun Yuan