Muhammad Yunus on “A new way to do business: Social responsibility before profits”

Ode Magazine, in its Jan/Feb 2008 issue, excerpts a section from the report “Social Business Entrepreneurs Are the Solution” by Muhammad Yunus. He has also written a book on the same topic, “Creating a World without Poverty,” published in January, 2007.

By Barbara Payne

 

 

It was a radical idea he proposed. To create a world without poverty! And he started with just the money in his own pockets to help very poor women in Bangladesh start their own businesses. The mission: help them gain access to money, technology and infrastructure so they can make a living for themselves and their families by operating a micro-business that also repays the loan.

 

And today he insists that it’s time to reinterpret capitalism. Businesses that don’t put profits above everything else, says Muhammad Yunus, can not only survive but thrive. And the world will be a better place when we acknowledge and honor that truth.

 

Credited with launching the global "microfinance movement" by launching Grameen Foundation in 1997, Professor Yunus offered a challenge to deliver the promise of microfinance around the world. As founder and managing director of the microfinance institution the Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Pretty impressive credentials!

 

What’s a “social business entrepreneur” (SBE)? Well, according to Yunus, it’s someone who starts a business with the idea of helping the world—and then only later asks whether she/he can make money at it. These are entrepreneurs are first concerned with making a difference in the world. They understand and acknowledge in their businesses that all of us human beings are multi-dimensional—with hearts and spirits that need nourishing as much as our bodies need food, clothing, and money.

 

This idea of doing good—by donating your time, money, talent, skills and so on—has always been attractive to humans and an important part of human history. Yunus says the time has come to include this in our definitions of capitalism. To start educating social MBAs to meet the demands of SBEs. He says we must not judge SBEs by the current traditional stock-market mentality. SBEs must develop their own norms, standards, measurements, evaluation criteria and terminologies.

 

The time has come that we must support these types of social business endeavors with new ways of funding, new “angel” investors—new social venture capitalists—who believe in this approach must join hands with the SBEs. Only by creating the right environment can we welcome SBEs into the market and thus make it an exciting place to fight social battles in increasingly innovative and effective ways.

 

The hope is that by fully recognizing the value of SBEs, they can flood the market and make it work for larger social goals as efficiently as it does for personal goals.

 

About Grameen Foundation

Grameen Foundation formalizes the process with special programs and products designed to measurably reduce poverty. They support the practice of microfinance for the poorest of the poor; applying innovative uses of communications and information technology to create self-sustaining technology micro-businesses and support better communications and the flow of information to remote areas. They tap capital markets to bring new, private sector funds to microfinance efforts. They pioneer unique technology solutions that help the microfinance industry reach more people more effectively. They share “best practices” to advance the microfinance industry’s impact on global poverty.

 

Their goals for 2008:

 

 

Click here to read more about Grameen Foundation’s programs.

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