Yunus discusses huge impact of tiny loans
The Denver PostNobel-winning microlender tells young entrepreneurs to put business principles to work for good, not goods
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus told a Denver audience Thursday that the idea of making small-business loans to the poor is so simple, he has struggled his whole life to make people believe it.
Picture: Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus signs a dollar bill signifying the strength of a single dollar for Kara Schlander, 11, Thursday in Denver. (Mark T. Osler, The Denver Post)
"No collateral, no guarantees, no lawyers," Yunus said of loans extended to people in desperate poverty.
Despite their surface risk, the tiny loans, which average only $150 per borrower, have been repaid at a rate of 98 percent.
Starting with $27 Yunus lent out to 42 Bangladeshi borrowers in 1976, Grameen Bank has disbursed $6.7 billion to 7.5 million borrowers, almost all of them female.
The member-owned bank has moved into more than two dozen other ventures, including providing cellphones and solar-power systems.
Like Grameen, the microcredit movement is moving beyond providing capital to the poor to creating businesses that serve a greater social good.
"Business is the means. The end is doing good," Yunus told more than 500 people gathered Thursday for the "Social Business and Microeconomic Opportunities for Youth" conference at the Four Points Sheraton in Denver.
Sule Amandu, Michael Calla han, Jacob Castillo and Patrick Flynn from Colorado State University were among the young entrepreneurs at the conference to present their business plans.
Their venture, called PowerMundo, seeks a more efficient method for John Hatch, left, was part of discussions Thursday with Muhammad Yunus in his role as founder of the Foundation for International Community Assistance. (Mark T. Osler, The Denver Post )
distributing energy- conserving devices in developing countries. They are testing their ideas in Peru with cookstoves and solar lights.
"We want to be the Circuit City for sustainable products," Calla han said.
Besides young entrepreneurs, the social business movement has also attracted corporate giants.
French food manufacturer Danone and Grameen have a joint venture to produce a yogurt with micronutrients often lacking in the diets of impoverished children.
Picture: John Hatch, left, was part of discussions Thursday with Muhammad Yunus in his role as founder of the Foundation for International Community Assistance. (Mark T. Osler, The Denver Post )
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
