Click to play videoNew Delhi: One hundred and ninety one nominees for the Nobel Prize for Peace, but the Swedish Academy had no difficulty in identifying a humble economist from Bangladesh who has transformed the lives of thousands of his countrymen.
Meet Muhammad Yunus who conceptualised the Grameen Bank as a vehicle to give credit to the very poorest in Bangladesh, particularly women.
It would enable them to be independent and self-reliant by starting small businesses without collateral. The system, which came to be known as micro credit, has now been copied in more than 100 nations.
“I am happy that a Bangladeshi's work has been recognised by the world, we could give a gift to the world, it is a great pride for our nation. It will erect our head and we will be encouraged to do more big works. The work we did aimed at eradicating poverty, we will work more on that so that no man remains poor," Yunus says.
The bank claims to have nearly 7 million borrowers, 97 per cent of whom are women, and provides services in more than 70,000 villages in Bangladesh.
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