By Rob Katz and Al Hammond
Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank that he founded have received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for their pioneering work on microfinance (read NextBillion’s blog).
Yunus founded the bank in 1976 to provide microfinancing—loans as small as $20—to the rural poor in Bangladesh. Today, the bank runs over two dozen related ventures to combat systemic poverty. The Grameen Foundation operates in over 43 countries (including the United States). The majority of Grameen’s enterprising clients are women.
Yunus and microfinance are overdue for this level of high-profile attention, especially for the underappreciated idea that economic prosperity and world peace are directly related. A WRI case study on Grameen Telecom shows how entrepreneurship and microfinance can significantly raise the living standards of entire communities. More microfinance case studies are available in the What Works series from the Development Through Enterprise project.
Rob Katz, AssociateRobert Katz researches private sector approaches to development as part of the Markets and Enterprise Program. He is a principal analyst of household survey data for “The Next 4 Billion,” and managing editor of NextBillion.net.
