Framework for a Better Future: The Promise of Social Business
In his British Council lecture at the Royal Institute of British Architects on 29 May Professor Muhammad Yunus called for the current global financial crisis to be used as an opportunity for major change.
In his British Council lecture at the Royal Institute of British Architects on 29 May Professor Muhammad Yunus called for the current global financial crisis to be used as an opportunity for major change.
'The system is no longer working, everyone is worrying about what is coming up...this is the deepest of crises but we should not forget this is the best of opportunities because this is the time to rebuild.'
'When things work you do not want to touch it because it is working. When things do not work, then you think about it. If it still does not work, then you kick it! This is the time to kick.'Â
He outlined his ideas for creating social businesses with the potential to solve the problems of poverty, health and the environment.
'We have no option but to accept social business.'
Banking on trust
Professor Yunus is the founder of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, a pioneer of microcredit and which embodies a model of banking that is completely trust based. The bank makes small loans, predominantly to woman, and also funds scholarships for the children of its borrowers.
There is no collateral, only mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. The bank is owned by poor women, not rich men. Its goal is to make the world a better place by eradicating poverty.
He said the world should not depend on only one kind of business where the maximization of profit is the main objective.
‘Economic theory has misinterpreted human beings very badly...human beings are not one-dimensional... the real human being is not a money making machine.'
'To justify the true human being we should include another type of business based on selflessness.. to invest money to do good that you want to do to make an impact on the world.'
'We invite everyone to design social businesses. If you can create social business ideas, investors will come.'
Grameen Bank is collaborating with French multinational company Danone in a social business supplying nutrient enriched yogurt to malnourished children in Bangladesh. Grameen is also working with Veolia to deliver safe drinking water in Bangladeshi villages and German company BSF to supply affordable mosquito nets.
Professor Yunus thanked the British Council for providing the platform to discuss these issues and spoke warmly of his many years’ contact with the British Council.
Grameen Bank
As of May 2008, Grameen Bank (GB) has 7.5 million borrowers, 97 per cent of whom are women. With 2,515 branches, GB provides services in 82,072 villages, covering more than 97 per cent of the total villages in Bangladesh. It has lent over $7 billion to the poor with a repayment rate close to 100 per cent. All its money comes from the depositors of the bank, representing a fundamental rethink on the economic relationship between the rich and the poor, their rights and their obligations.
Nobel Peace Prize for economic and social development
In October 2006, Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Grameen Bank, for their efforts to create economic and social development. His work is an appeal for action: promoting the will to survive and the courage to put a human heart back at the centre of the economic cycle.Â
Download the transcript:
Framework for a better future[PDF86.3KB]
Watch the You Tube film
Listen to the speech:
Part 1: Framework for a better future [MP3 48.8MB]
Part 2: Framework for a better future Q&A [MP3 28.6MB]
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