Speech given by Nobel Peace Prize and Father of Microfinance, Muhammad Yunus.
Muhammad Yunus spoke about the social business of micro-finance. Though he confessed his initial lack of knowledge in banking, Yunus told us that he learned how conventional banks did things, and then did just the opposite. Where conventional banks went to the rich, he went to the poor. Where conventional banks went to men, he most often went to women. Where conventional banks wanted collateral, he dismissed it completely. Where conventional banks wanted legal papers, he saw no need. Where conventional banks were owned by the rich, his bank was owned by the borrowers. Where conventional banks wanted to know your credit history, he was more interested in your future than your past. Where conventional banks made the people go to them, he went to the people. In this social business, the question was not “How much money did you make this year?” but became instead “How many children got out of malnutrition this year?” Behind the podium, he demanded, “Should banks a