Creating a World without Povery - M. Yunus

I attented a conference in Monaco yesterday called "Creating a World Without Poverty" hosted by Mr. Muhammad Yunus.

I secured a front row seat, got my red notepad out and waited eagerly for the Peace Nobel Prize winner to talk to us about his new book " Creating a world without poverty - Social Business and the future of capitalism".













My first impression of this great man was how he managed to touch people by his presence. We barely noticed as he entered the room, smiled shyly and took his seat. But once he started talking I was mesmerized. Unlike many charismatic people, his power of influence was subtle yet extremely powerful. He spoke slowly, calmly without using his intonation to stress points of importance rather, using humor to enable us to relate to the stories he was telling about Bangladesh's poor . It was extremely effective.

He spoke to us about Bangladesh; its history, economic environment, and the poor. He explained to us how walking through small villages surrounding his campus he came to notice villager's reliance on loan sharks. He compiled a list of all the people in the village who used the loan shark (47 names) and calculated their total debt (27 USD). What pushed him to action was the simple realisation of the extent of suffering caused by so little money. His first loan was of 27 USD. That's how it all started.

Today the Grameen Bank has 7.5 million borrowers, 100 % women borrowers and 100% owned by its borrowers. It is one of the only banks in the world that can post a 98% repayment rate. The Grameen Bank is having a tangible impact on poverty reduction and social empowerment all around the world, and it started with a 27 USD loan.















Mr Yunus then went on to explain his thoughts on social business. It is not a new idea, I had heard of it under a different name, " the third way". It's the idea that profit maximising and social impact do not have to be mutually exclusive in business. Through this idea, he is seeking to expand the notion of capitalism and socialism and merge them together, creating a new entity with new rules. He provided examples of work the Grameen is currently undertaking with Danone (creating vitamin and mineral enriched yogurts to help fight malnutrition) and Veolia (water treatment) to help illustrate his ideas of the future.

I was convinced. With millions of people at the so called "Bottom of Pyramid" being excluded from mainstream business offerings, the opportunities for business development are unlimited. More importantly it provides young, dynamic social entrepreneurs with a blank canvas, an opportunity to redefine the rules and create success in both financial and social terms.

The conference ended with a few questions and a small unorganised press conference. Thanks to my strategic front row position I was able to shake hands with the man himself muttering "it was a pleasure" - (lost for words would be a way to describe the encounter) - and I missed out on the opportunity to get a signed copy of his book (ie. no cash to buy the book :( ... ).

I left the conference inspired and actively thinking of ways to do things "the third way".

Tbc.