Born in 1940 to a wealthy family in
Chittagong, Bangladesh, Yunus is an
accomplished scholar in the field of
Economics: after he finished his Bachelor’s
and Master’s studies at the Dhaka University,
he received a scholarship to study in the
United States, where he obtained his PhD in
Economics from the Vanderbilt University.
Upon returning to Bangladesh, he joined
the Chittagong University as head of the
Economics department in 1972. Two years
later, however, a huge famine broke out in
Bangladesh – he realised that while he was
teaching economic theories in the comfort
of the ivory tower, starvation was happening
to millions in the country. Determined to
help the poor, he began visiting the village
of Jobra near the Chittagong University.
In Jobra, Yunus came across a mother of
three children, who struggled to feed her
family with the little money she earned from
making bamboo stools. Without a credit
guarantee, her only option was to take
usurious loans in order to purchase bamboo.
Under the pressure of usury, getting out of
poverty was a far-fetched dream to her and
her family, even though she was already
working day and night.
After meeting this lady, Yunus began his
investigation in Jobra, and was surprised to
discover that while there were 42 villagers
who were taking usurious loans, altogether
they had barely borrowed USD27. It was
then that he realised, all it took was USD27
to improve the lives of 42 families! With this
realisation he began his quest in persuading
banks to lend money to the poor, but to
no avail; all the banks had turned down his
suggestion due to perceived high risk of
default.
But Yunus was not about to give up; he
opted for the second best option at the time:
borrowing money from the bank himself, and
then lending it to the poor.
The result was astonishing to him – every
single person had returned the money on
time. Presenting this result to traditional
banks, he tried – and once again, failed – to
persuade them to offer microcredit loans to
the financially disadvantaged. Eventually, he
decided to create a new bank on his own, one
that would serve the rural poor exclusively.
In 1983, the Grameen Bank was founded
(‘Grameen’ means villages in Bengali).
This year, we have invited Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus, to share his experience
and insights at the University Lecture on Civility.
Born in Bangladesh, one of the 50 least developed countries in the world, Yunus has devoted more
than 30 years of his life to serving the rural poor through microcredit. He believes having personal
financial autonomy is key to improving one’s life, but traditional banks are always unwilling to offer
loans to the impoverished, simply because they do not have a guarantee. With the vision that the
financial systems could and should also serve those with economic disadvantages, Yunus founded
the Grameen Bank (‘Village Bank’ in Bengali) to help the financially disadvantaged exclusively.
Currently the world’s largest microfinance organisation, not only does Grameen concern itself
with the rights of the underprivileged, it also assumes an active role in improving issues such as
women’s status in society, child education, medical and social welfare, as well as rural sanitation. In
2006, Yunus and Grameen Bank were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their
efforts in creating “economic and social development from below”.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
to Visit University Lecture
on Civility
Date //
October 14, 2015 (Wednesday)
Time //
5:30PM
Venue //
Sir Run Run Shaw Hall
Enquiry number //
3943 9957
Banker to the Poor
5
4
University Lecture on Civility
