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The magic wand called micro-credit
| Muhammad Yunus reveals his magic mantra |
Lifting lives: Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.
NEW DELHI: Noted economist and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will reveal how his revolutionary banking system of micro-credit has helped millions out of the poverty cycle in Bangladesh on CNN this Saturday.
Speaking to CNN’s Anjali Rao for the programme “Talk Asia”, Yunus describes how he came up with the concept of lending money to those reeling below the poverty line for self-employment, why the system works, and why he believes poverty and terrorism sometimes go hand in hand.
The Grameen Bank founded by Yunus did what no other conventional banks would do - lend money to the poor in rural Bangladesh, mostly women. Thirty years after Yunus’ first loan set 42 people free from poverty, the bank is still going strong. Today Grameen Bank has more than 7.3 million borrowers and the concept has been emulated all over the world.
Contrary to conventional banks, the payback rate is as high as 98 per cent, something Yunus attributes to his education programmes and the moral responsibility to repay debt. He also recalls how success and goodwill did not come easy at first as religious group, political parties and men in general, protested and went as far as to suggest that Grameen Bank was a communist ploy.
Yunus grew up in a lower middle class family but he and his eight siblings were encouraged by their parents to pursue the path of academics.
Upon completion of his studies in the US after receiving a Fulbright Scholarship, Yunus returned to his native Bangladesh to make a difference.
In the “Talk Asia” interview he also reveals his plans for the future and his ongoing work to develop his award-winning programme alongside large corporations.
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