KEY TOPICS: Bangladesh, Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus
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Grameen is not just a bank but it is most widely known for its banking services, notably its micro-credit loans. This service aims to make poor Bangladeshis self-sufficient by supporting their small entrepreneurial ventures. In the mid-1970's, Muhammad Yunus, then a Chittagong University Economics professor, launched what really was more of a social experiment than a full-fledged credit programme with the help of his research students. Not long afterwards, he established Grameen Bank so that more people would benefit - millions more - from micro-credit. What started as a noble idea in Jobra village, north of Chittagong, would eventually spread across the newly independent country because Yunus and his supporters firmly believed that, inherently resourceful, the poor just needed a fair chance to raise their own living standards. The collateral-free loan, issued through the Bank, would be the main vehicle for reducing their poverty. In Yunus' words, Grameen Bank would help "millions of small people with their millions of small pursuits [that] can add up to create the biggest development wonder." Certainly, a noble aim, which would eventually garner world-wide support and, for Grameen Bank and Yunus himself, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
Since 1983, Grameen Bank has spawned social businesses and joint ventures, like Grameenphone, Bangladesh's largest cellular company which began on Independence Day in 1997. While they may be in partnership with Norway's Telenor (ironically, Norway is home to the Nobel Prize awarding institutions), Grameenphone's roots are indigenous and political: rural women would gain access to phones and jobs to assist with the delivery of phone services. Today, with 20 million subscribers, the company has certainly moved out of the village and into Bangladesh's corporate sector. A visit to its website lists its Corporate Responsibility (CR) initiatives, like blood banks, scholarships, and employment to marginalized groups. Grameenphone, it seems, still cares about local issues.
Grameen, which means 'village' or 'rural' in Bangla, has become the prefix for the do-good business model that integrates Yunus' original idea of empowering the poor. It is a shame that the former economist, in his role as the Bank's Managing Director, has been subject to the kind of criticism and accusations of unethical business practices that suggest malice and political maneuvering on the part of the ruling elite. This development has certainly roused the emotions of Yunus' supporters who sometimes equate the man with Mahatma Gandhi. You can find them and their written arguments online if you search widely enough.
Interestingly, it was nearly 4 months after my arrival that I was reminded of Yunus' ground-breaking work in his native Bangladesh - the country I now lived. In the heart of suburban Dhaka, I sat in traffic browsing gleefully through a street hawker's pile of glossy English paperbacks; Yunus had written up his story in 2 books, one of them being "The Banker to the Poor." For about 700 Takas, I bought both books - I didn't care that they were re-prints from India as they only cost me $9.00 CAN (yes, I haggled) and was spared a trip to the dusty bookshop. Nothing like learning directly from the source, however biased autobiographies may be, about Yunus' passion for the poor. People can talk and point fingers all they want but it is up to us to separate fact from fiction. It is up to us, too, to care about the issues.
Since moving to Bangladesh in August 2012, I have observed that few people in my social circles here in the capital are talking about Yunus or Grameen Bank. Yet we do talk about the poor, female empowerment and political corruption. There are so many do-gooders in this place that Yunus is certainly in good company. Nevertheless, the 'grameen' phenomenon is incredible and worth understanding if only to recognize the social and political agency of Bangladeshis.
*No summary included.
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| Grameenphone Office in Bashundhara (Dhaka) |
Since 1983, Grameen Bank has spawned social businesses and joint ventures, like Grameenphone, Bangladesh's largest cellular company which began on Independence Day in 1997. While they may be in partnership with Norway's Telenor (ironically, Norway is home to the Nobel Prize awarding institutions), Grameenphone's roots are indigenous and political: rural women would gain access to phones and jobs to assist with the delivery of phone services. Today, with 20 million subscribers, the company has certainly moved out of the village and into Bangladesh's corporate sector. A visit to its website lists its Corporate Responsibility (CR) initiatives, like blood banks, scholarships, and employment to marginalized groups. Grameenphone, it seems, still cares about local issues.
Grameen, which means 'village' or 'rural' in Bangla, has become the prefix for the do-good business model that integrates Yunus' original idea of empowering the poor. It is a shame that the former economist, in his role as the Bank's Managing Director, has been subject to the kind of criticism and accusations of unethical business practices that suggest malice and political maneuvering on the part of the ruling elite. This development has certainly roused the emotions of Yunus' supporters who sometimes equate the man with Mahatma Gandhi. You can find them and their written arguments online if you search widely enough.
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| Bookseller in Gulshan Neighbourhood (permission to photograph granted) |
Since moving to Bangladesh in August 2012, I have observed that few people in my social circles here in the capital are talking about Yunus or Grameen Bank. Yet we do talk about the poor, female empowerment and political corruption. There are so many do-gooders in this place that Yunus is certainly in good company. Nevertheless, the 'grameen' phenomenon is incredible and worth understanding if only to recognize the social and political agency of Bangladeshis.
