Moscow City Government Getting Ready to Introduce Social Business

The Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov has announced his decision to implement social businesses to address numerous urban social and economic problems. He had already introduced microfinance to the city of Moscow to tackle a range of social problems after the last visit of Professor Yunus in April, 2008. This announcement came after a meeting on November 17 between Professor Yunus and the Mayor. The Mayor has announced formation of a Committee headed by the Deputy Mayor which will include a representative of Professor Yunus, senior officials of the Moscow City Government, and the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC) to design and implement these social businesses. Part of the city's budget will be devoted to these projects.
There has been a great deal of interest generated in the concept of social business among senior officials belonging to both the private and public sectors of the Russian Federation during Nobel Laureate Professor Yunus' visit to Moscow.
Professor Yunus made a presentation to some members of the Upper House presided over by the Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the State Assembly (the upper house of the Russian Parliament), Mr. Mikhail Nikolaev.
Professor Yunus addressed an informal joint session of two parliamentary committees headed by Deputy Dr. Vladislav Reznik, chairman of the Financial Market Committee, and the Economic Policy and Entrepreneurship Committee of the State Duma (lower house of the Russian Parliament) at the Parliament building.
Meetings were also held with Minister for Economic Development, Ms. Elvira Nabiullina. Professor Yunus was in Moscow at the invitation of the Russian Microfinance Center and gave the keynote address to the International Microfinance Conference organized by the Center.