1. Microlending:
Muhammad Yunus
By Alex Kochian
Gluck Econ Per. 4
3/1/10

2. Background
• Born on June 28,
1940 in Bangladesh
• Received Ph.D. in
Economics from
Vanderbilt University
in 1969
• Returned to
Bangladesh as head
of the Economics
Department at Jobra, Bangladesh
Chittagong University
• Lived among destitute
conditions in
Bangladesh

3. Microlending
• Banks refused to lend
money to impoverished
• Poor were kept in poverty
by greedy moneylenders
• Yunus offered no-interest
loans for $100 or under to
groups of poor female
basket weavers in
Bangladesh beginning in
1976
• No collateral and no official
documentation
• 99% of loans fully repaid

4. Grameen Bank
• Opened in 1983 in Bangladesh
• Bank devoted entirely to
microlending
• Also teaches customers basic
financial principles
• Currently lends money to over
7.5 million impoverished people
• The majority of the bank’s
stocks are owned by low-
income female basket weavers
of Bangladesh
• Yunus and Grameen Bank
collectively won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2006

5. Social Business
• Economic concept created by
Yunus
• Established to help eradicate
poverty and improve society
• Different from not-for-profit
because self-sustaining, and
no donations required
• Entrepreneurs would find a
balance between profit-
maximizing business and
social business

6. Social Business Around the
World
• Yunus’ concept of social business
is spreading around the world
• Microcredit Summit has helped
over 3,100 businesses in 130
countries initiate microcredit
programs
• Danone Group is creating yogurt
with many essential nutrients to
Grameen-Intel
distribute to the impoverished of
Workers
Bangladesh
• Grameen-Intel was created to bring
information technology to the poor

7. Works Cited
Dugger, Celia W. "Peace Prize to Pioneer of Loans to Poor No Bank Would Touch." The New York Times 14 Oct. 2006. The
New York Times. The New York Times Company. Web. 9
Feb.2010.<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/world/asia/14nobel.html?
scp=1&sq=muhammad%20yunus&st=cse>.
"Press Release - Nobel Peace Prize 2006." Nobelprize.org. Web. 9 Feb. 2010.
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/press.html>.
Yunus, Muhammad. "Muhammad Yunus: Helping the less privileged unleash their entrepreneurial skills." Interview by
Rahilla Zafar. INSEAD: The Business School for the World. INSEAD. Web. 9 Feb. 2010.
<http://knowledge.insead.edu/muhammadyunus080403.cfm>.
Yunus, Muhammad. "Yunus Speaks About Capitalism, Poverty, and the Future of ‘Social Business’." Speech. 6 June 2008.
The Tech: Online Edition. MIT News Office. Web. 9 Feb. 2010.
<http://tech.mit.edu/V128/N28/commencement/yunus.html>.