Muhammad Yunus, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work to reduce poverty using microcredit, will speak at Emory University on Wednesday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Mr. Yunus will present the Goodrich C. White Lecture, speaking on the role of the university in helping eliminate poverty around the world.
As an economics professor in his native Bangladesh more than 30 years ago, Mr. Yunus began providing small personal loans to poor basket weavers. He started Grameen Bank in 1976, lending mostly to poor women to help them generate income by starting small-scale enterprises.
As of January, Grameen had dispersed more than $8 billion. What began as an informal assistance program is now a far-reaching institution with 2,562 branches in Bangladesh. The bank is 95 percent-owned by borrowers and makes loans based on personal trust, not collateral. Ninety-seven percent of Grameen’s 8 million borrowers are women, according to Grameen’s Web site.
Mr. Yunus has advanced the concept of “social businesses,” enterprises that do good while making a profit.
The lecture is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Currently, the event is sold out, but names may be added to a waiting list.
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