Muhammad Yunus - A true socialist with a vision

History has given us true heroes but we sometimes fail to recognize the heroes of today. It has been decades that we have been hearing from governments of all countries that they are working for the poor. But as it was destined to, an individual stepped forward and made a significant difference. For all those who know Muhammad Yunus, you might be knowing about his achievements in rural upliftment. For those who don't, you are at the right place. The coming paragraphs would enlighten you with the contributions made by Muhammad Yunus.

                    Muhammad Yunus is an Bangladeshi banker, economist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. 
As a professor of economics, he developed the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen Bank received the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts through microcredit to create economic and social development from below". Yunus has received several other national and international honours. He was awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, and presented with it at a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on 17 April 2013.

                    The Idea that changed lives -

                    In 1976, during visits to the poorest households in the village of Jobra near Chittagong University, Yunus discovered that very small loans could make a disproportionate difference to a poor person. Village women who made bamboo furniture had to take usurious loans to buy bamboo, and repay their profits to the lenders. Traditional banks did not want to make tiny loans at reasonable interest to the poor due to high risk of default. But Yunus believed that, given the chance, the poor will repay the money and hence microcredit was a viable business model. Yunus lent US$27 of his money to 42 women in the village, who made a profit of BDT 0.50 (US$0.02) each on the loan.

Grameen Bank -

Grameen Bank is founded on the principle that loans are better than charity to interrupt poverty: they offer people the opportunity to take initiatives in business or agriculture, which provide earnings and enable them to pay off the debt.

The bank is founded on the belief that people have endless potential, and unleashing their creativity and initiative helps them end poverty. Grameen has offered credit to classes of people formerly underserved: the poor, women, illiterate, and unemployed people. Access to credit is based on reasonable terms, such as the group lending system and weekly-installment payments, with reasonably long terms of loans, enabling the poor to build on their existing skills to earn better income in each cycle of loans.

Grameen’s objective has been to promote financial independence among the poor. Yunus encourages all borrowers to become savers, so that their local capital can be converted into new loans to others. Since 1995, Grameen has funded 90 percent of its loans with interest income and deposits collected, aligning the interests of its new borrowers and depositor-shareholders. Grameen converts deposits made in villages into loans for the more needy in the villages (Yunus and Jolis 1998).

It targets the poorest of the poor, with a particular emphasis on women, who receive 95 percent of the bank’s loans. Women traditionally had less access to financial alternatives of ordinary credit lines and incomes. They were seen to have an inequitable share of power in household decision making. Yunus and others have found that lending to women generates considerable secondary effects, including empowerment of a marginalized segment of society (Yunus and Jolis 1998), who share betterment of income with their children, unlike many men. Yunus claims that in 2004, women still have difficulty getting loans; they comprise less than 1 percent of borrowers from commercial banks (Yunus 2004).The interest rates charged by microfinance institutes including Grameen Bank is high compared to that of traditional banks; Grameen's interest (reducing balance basis) on its main credit product is about 20%.

Learnings -

1) Support Talent

One key learning is that talent should not be wasted for want of money. Many people give up their passions because they cannot sustain them. As an individual or manager, one should support such causes.

2) Reward Deserving Candidates

Proper recognition and reward to deserving candidates urges them to perform better the next time. As a manager, one should be able to recognize and vocal about good work.

3) Success comes the hard way

As is evident from Muhammad Yunus's example, there are no short-cuts to success and that should be made clear to everyone in the organization. One should be prepared to work hard for long term success and recognition.

                    I hope all those who weren't aware of Muhammad Yunus have finally understood the significant contribution of him towards the upliftment of the poor. Such inspiring stories keep me striving hard to achieve more and I hope it motivates millions around the world. Happy learning, happy blogging !