Podcast

Economic Development

Dr. Muhammad Yunus - Banker to the Poor

Muhammad Yunus started a movement that has lifted millions out of poverty. When he formed the Grameen Bank in 1983 and started giving out microloans, Yunus bridged the divide between business and social needs. In this audio lecture, he describes how he created microcredit, collateral-free lending, and began offering other business services to the poor. Yunus lays out the path to his extraordinary vision and success, which is driving global social change.

Podcast

Economic Development

Muhammad Yunus - Creating a Poverty-Free World

Professor Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, changes traditional principles of banking by putting poor people's needs first. Today, Grameen Bank is a powerful organization that supports poor people by providing microloans, credits, and banking services. In this audio lecture, Yunus describes the reasons behind his philosophies and how they have led to the launch of new enterprises in various industries in Bangladesh.

Social Innovations

Microfinance Misses Its Mark

By Aneel Karnani 46

Despite the hoopla over microfinance, it doesn't cure poverty. But stable jobs do. If societies are serious about helping the poorest of the poor, they should stop investing in microfinance and start supporting large, labor-intensive industries.

Essentials of Social Innovation

Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition

By Roger L. Martin & Sally Osberg 40

Social entrepreneurship is attracting growing amounts of talent, money, and attention, but along with its increasing popularity has come less certainty about what exactly a social entrepreneur is and does.

Podcast

Economic Development

Alex Counts - Microfinance: Controversies and Promises

Microfinance is bringing the world's poor the kind of service that used to be reserved for bank customers in developed countries. Drawing on the work and philosophy of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, Alex Counts talks in this audio lecture about microfinance's social and financial impact to an audience of Stanford MBA students.

Social Entrepreneurship

Credit to the Poor

By Muhammad Yunus & William Fuller

Muhammad Yunus was getting nowhere in Bangladesh – so he opened his own bank.