Exam 18: Voyage into the Twenty First Century

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Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist, and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Yunus and the Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.

Here are some key terms associated with Muhammad Yunus:

1. **Social Entrepreneurship**: This refers to the practice of using entrepreneurial and business skills to create and manage ventures that have a social change agenda. Muhammad Yunus is considered a leading figure in this field, as he used entrepreneurial principles to address the issue of poverty and to empower the poor through microcredit.

2. **Microcredit**: This is a financial innovation made famous by Muhammad Yunus which involves providing small loans to poor entrepreneurs who do not qualify for traditional bank loans. The idea is to enable them to start small businesses and become self-sufficient.

3. **Microfinance**: This is a broader term that encompasses not only microcredit but also other financial services for the poor, such as savings accounts, insurance, and payment systems. Muhammad Yunus is a pioneer in this field, advocating for the provision of a full range of financial services to the poor.

4. **Grameen Bank**: Founded by Muhammad Yunus in 1983, the Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community development bank in Bangladesh that provides small loans to the impoverished without requiring collateral. Its model is based on trust and the solidarity of groups of borrowers.

5. **Nobel Peace Prize**: Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for their efforts to create economic and social development from below. The Nobel Committee recognized that "lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty" and that microcredit is one such means.

6. **Social Business**: Yunus developed the concept of a social business, which is a business created and designed to address a social problem. A social business operates like a traditional company except that profits are reinvested to further the social mission rather than being distributed to shareholders.

7. **Banker to the Poor**: This is the title of Muhammad Yunus's autobiography in which he shares the story of Grameen Bank and his vision for a world without poverty. The book outlines his philosophy and the implementation of microcredit as a tool for poverty alleviation.

Muhammad Yunus's work has had a significant impact on the lives of millions of people, particularly women, and has inspired similar microcredit and microfinance initiatives around the world. His innovative approach to business and finance has made him a leading figure in discussions about poverty reduction and social entrepreneurship.