3. BASIC INFORMATION
Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi social
entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil social
leader who was awarded the Nobel peace prize
for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering
the concept of microcredit and Microfinance.
Professor Muhammad Yunus is the recipient of
more than 50 honorary degrees from universities
across 20 countries. He has received 112 awards
from 26 countries including state honours from 10
countries.
4. EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION
Muhammad Yunus was born in 28th June, 1940 in the village
of Bathua, in Hathazari, Chittagong. He was the third of 14
children. His father was a successful goldsmith who always
encouraged his sons to seek higher education. But his biggest
influence was his mother, Sufia Khatun, who always helped
any poor that knocked on their door. This inspired him to
commit himself to eradication of poverty. His early childhood
years were spent in the village. In 1944, his family moved to
the city of Chittagong and he moved from his village school to
Chittagong Collegiate School from where he passed his S.S.C.
He completed his H.S.C from Chittagong College. In 1957, he
enrolled in the Department of Economics at Dhaka University
and completed his BA in 1960 and MA in 1961.
5. CAREER
After his graduation, Yunus joined the Bureau of
Economics as a research assistant. Later, he was
appointed lecturer in economics in Chittagong College in
1961. From 1969 to 1972, Yunus was assistant professor
of economics at Middle Tennessee State University in
Murfreesboro. After 1972 he joined as a professor of
economics at Chittagong University. Yunus discovered
that very small loans could make a disproportionate
difference to a poor person. Yunus lent US$27 of his
money to 42 women in the village, who made a profit of
BDT 0.50 (US$0.02) each on the loan.
6. Thus Yunus is credited with the idea of microcredit alongside
Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan, founder of the Pakistan Academy
for Rural Development (now Bangladesh Academy for Rural
Development), whom Yunus greatly admired In December
1976, Yunus finally secured a loan from the government
Janata Bank to lend to the poor in Jobra. The institution
continued to operate, securing loans from other banks for its
projects. By 1982, it had 28,000 members. On 1 October
1983, the pilot project began operation as a full-fledged bank
for poor Bangladeshis and was renamed Grameen
Bank("Village Bank").
7. GRAMEEN BANK AT A GLANCE
The Grameen Bank is a Nobel Peace
Prize winning microfinance organization
and community development bank
founded in Bangladesh. It gives small
loans(known as microcredit) to the rural
poor people to remove the unemployment by
doing small businesses and for making them
self-independent. Grameen Bank, the pioneering institution
in the field of poverty finance is now serving 2.6 million
borrowers with 95% as women. All it clients at the time of
their first loans were among the poorest. Given the access to
credit, they have an enabling environment to strive for better
life to cross poverty line and to continue to improve.
8. Founded in 1983.
Grameen bank
has 2565 branches.
It works in
81379 villages.
Net income
10.76 million USD.
Total staff is 22149.
Total assets
125,396,957,972 Taka.
11. LEGACY & HONOR
In 2006, awarded Noble Peace Prize for his finance work.
Chosen by Wharton School Of Business in Philadelphia as
one of The 25 Most Influential Business Persons of the Past
25 Years, covered in a PBS documentary.
In 2006, Times magazine ranked him as one of the top 12
business leaders, including him among "60 years of Asian
Heroes."
In 2008, Yunus was voted 2nd on the list of Top 100 Public
Intelectual an open online poll conducted by Prospect
Magazine(UK) and Foreign(United States).
In 2009, Yunus was awarded the Golden Biatec Award, the
highest award bestowed by Slovakia’s Informal Economic
Forum Economic Club, for individuals who exhibit economic,
social, scientific, educational and cultural accomplishments in
the Slovak Republic.
12. IN 2006, PROFESSOR MUHAMMAD YUNUS
AWARDED NOBLE PEACE PRIZE FOR HIS
FINANCE WORK.
13. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA PRESENTS THE
2009 PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM TO
MUHAMMAD YUNUS.
14. MUHAMMAD YUNUS AT THE ANNUAL MEETING
2009 OF THEWORLD ECONOMIC FORUM IN DAVOS,
SWITZERLAND.
15. In 2013 Professor Muhammad Yunus featured in the Forbes’
Second Annual Philanthropy issue cover along with Bill Gates
& others entrepreneurs.
16. BOOKS OF DR.YUNUS
Three Farmers of Jobra.
Jorimon and Others.
Grameen Bank, as I See it.
Banker to the Poor.
Creating a World without Poverty.