Originally from Bangladesh, Yunus later obtained his doctors degree from the Vanderbilt-University and became a professor at the Chittagong University in Bangladesh in 1972. During that time he was already socially and politically active.
But soon, he became tired of his work at the Cittagong University and in 1976, he eventually discovered that micro credits could make a disproportionate difference to poor persons. Micro credits give poor people the opportunity to make small investments into their business which helps them to generate higher future income. Yunus once said that in his experience, poor people are the world's greatest entrepreneurs. Every day, they must innovate in order to survive. They remain poor because they do not have the opportunities to turn their creativity into sustainable income.
His first customers were 42 women from a small village which he provided with $27. Before they were offered a micro credit they had to finance their bamboo furniture productions through loans which had horrendous installments.
Yunus continued to secure loans from banks to give it to the poor in Bangladesh. In 1982, his project had 28,000 customers and in 1983, the project became a full-fledged bank providing micro credits only and being renamed to Grameen Bank. The bank’s name is very symbolic since grameen means "village". To ensure repayments "solidarity groups" are applying together for a bank loan and act as co-guarantors.
But Yunus did not stop there. Several projects which were initiated by the Grameen Bank became separate organizations, just like the fishers project Grameen Motsho and the agricultural project Grameen Krishi. This outstanding success inspired similar projects in more than 100 developing countries. Yunus’ highest recognition was the Nobel Piece Price which he was rewarded with in 2006.
Sadly, Yunus' success with the Grameen Bank did not last. A Danish documentary first criticized micro credits in 2010 questioning the effectiveness of microfinance for poor persons. The government of Bangladesh proceeded to turn against Yunus, too, accusing him of "sucking blood from the poor". This led to Yunus being laid off as a Managing Director of the Grameen Bank in 2011. Yunus claimed that his layoff was politically motivated but did not win in court.
Still, Yunus remains one of the most important persons in the history of social businesses. At the end an inspirational quote for us all who believe in the success of social entrepreneurship:
