Lakhasly

Muhammad Yunus, often called "the world's banker to the poor," received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work against poverty. Yunus said he would use the $1.35 million prize money to "find more innovative ways" to help the poor.The idea 5 came to him while he was teaching economics at Chittagong University in southern Bangladesh, which is one of the poorest nations in the world.Receivers of the loans then resell the goods to supplement their income.Today, the bank has

over 9 million borrowers and over 2,500 branches in over 81,000 villages in Bangladesh.Yunus founded the Grameen Bank in 1976 with just $27 from his own pocket.He and his students started an experimental project: They lent poor people small amounts of money.

Muhammad Yunus, often called "the world's banker to the poor," received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering work against poverty. Yunus said he would use the $1.35 million prize money to "find more innovative ways" to help the poor.

Yunus founded the Grameen Bank in 1976 with just $27 from his own pocket. The idea 5 came to him while he was teaching economics at Chittagong University in southern Bangladesh, which is one of the poorest nations in the world. He and his students started an experimental project: They lent poor people small amounts of money. The people used the money for their own small businesses; for example, to buy straw to

make stools. Until then, the local people relied on local moneylenders who were not

10 always fair.

Since then, the Grameen Bank model has been duplicated in more than 100 countries. Today, the bank has

over 9 million borrowers and over 2,500 branches in over 81,000 villages in Bangladesh. The bank also started a program to give poor people a loan of about $9 to purchase small items such as bread, candy, pickles, and toys. Receivers of the loans then resell the goods to supplement their income. The bank reports that it has lent 15 $24 billion over the past 38 years and claims a high repayment rate- 99.6 percent. Nowadays Grameen Banks are also in developed countries. One hundred people in Queens, New York, were among the first borrowers of Grameen America. The total number of borrowers worldwide is 100 million.*