Thursday, October 19, 2006

Yunus Receives Nobel Peace Prize

Congrats to Mohammed Yunus for winning the nobel prize. Yunnus an economist founded Grameen Banks of Bangladesh.

Grameen banks have been very unique because they give small loans...I mean small (were talking 60 dollar loans here) to people who normally couldn't get loans, often women with children, who need just a little capital for initial set up fees for small businesses (say to buy chickens in order to sell eggs, or cloth to begin sewing dresses).

In the process Yunus and Grameen banks have done well and made quite a profit, but also have significantly helped fight poverty by giving the poor an opportunity to work hard and be productive in society, helping the economies of entire communities.

I think Yunus is an excellent choice for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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2 comments:

jasdye said...

wonder how the profit margins work. never heard this before (except for some pie-in-the-sky idealism).

$60 is quite a bit for a majority of the sub-continent's population. so, this sounds like a great idea.

Chase Roper said...

Funny. Cindy Sheehan said publicly that she was the finalist the day before the award was announced. Turns out they don't even make the nominees public for up to 50 years after the winner is declared. What's her deal?