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3.99 AVERAGE
Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in advocating for microcredit and helping several people living in extreme poverty, both in his home country of Bangladesh and around the world.
Besides the first few chapters that give an autobiographical background of Yunus’s childhood and education, the rest of the book basically describes the Grameen system: how Yunus founded it, how its banks operate, its evolution throughout the years, and its mission both in Bangladesh and in other “third” and “first” world countries.
[I do like some things in it...but...]
From what I understood, Grameen serves poorer populations by giving micro-credit and micro-loans (literally loans of a few dollars at a time) to those who would not qualify for normal loans from normal banks. Yunus cites several examples of struggling clients who, after borrowing between 2-20 dollars, were able to successfully launch their own businesses (such as hand-weaving baskets and selling them door-to-door in villages) and thus break the cycle of abusive relationships with moneylenders who charged high interest rates.
Based on the cited statistics, it seems like Grameen undoubtedly helped several people living in extreme poverty. But there is just something that I am very uneasy about: it charges interest to its borrowers. Riba is a completely un-Islamic concept, and while I don’t want to minimize the possible benefit Grameen has for those suffering from even higher debts and interest rates, I simply can’t justify the fact that it profits off of those very people. A few times, Yunus is even proud to give examples of people who have relied on Grameen loans for decades—but shouldn’t that be opposite goal of a program that wants to give disadvantaged people the means to financial independence?
Yunus even criticized “conservative” Muslims who viewed Grameen negatively without ever explicating what these Muslims’ issues were. He is clearly a very creative entrepreneur with a solid understanding of business and economics. He had to bypass so many practices in order to build Grameen. Wouldn’t it be possible to create an equally productive system without the riba?
Yunus is a confident writer. He has a way of knowing exactly what he wants to say. Weaving stories into the picture to bring the narrative of micro lending into focus. I was surprised with how little technical information was included into this book. A lot of this has to do with how simple the micro lending structure is. It isn’t built on lofty and ethereal economic models, but real world experience that Yunus had in Bangladesh. I am very skeptical with how much it has actually worked in the 21st century(this is a dated book, so more research will need to be done on my end), but a super interesting idea that when done well can lift people out of poverty and give them back their dignity.
Truly an amazing book! I highly recommend this to anyone interested in development, poverty, or those wanting to learn about micro lending. He is truly an incredible man with a heart of infinite passion and hope. This book will stay in memory for quite some time.
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Very interesting book. There is so much common sense and so much truth in what Mr. Yunus has to say.
It is amazing what Muhammad Yunus and The Grameen Foundation have accomplished. He was recently removed as the head of The Grameen Foundation. After listening to his account of how he started Grameen and the various people that helped him along the way, he should be extremely proud of starting an impressive microloan movement.
After reading this I'm more likely to give to microcredit organizations, I need to buy a copy of this for my friend Joon.
Muhammad Yunis is perhaps one of the few bankers that has made a lasting impact to alleviating poverty through micro-lending. He lives what he preaches and adopts a philosophy of social capitalism, eschewing greed and rightfully pointing out that general charity is mostly good for feeding bloated bureaucratic fees and alleviating people's conscience without requiring them to go further.
More important than the microfinance aspect, his book lays out a real approach to perhaps conducting and visualising business that can be both profitable and good for the many.
A worthwhile read with a goods start, a slow middle, and a great ending.
More important than the microfinance aspect, his book lays out a real approach to perhaps conducting and visualising business that can be both profitable and good for the many.
A worthwhile read with a goods start, a slow middle, and a great ending.
Insightful book to the world of micro-credit I was always interested to find more about. A bit lengthy and preachy towards the end.
This book is fantastic. I greatly enjoyed reliving Mr. Yunus' demonstrated passion for those less fortunate, and his willingness to go to bat for them and innovate. The Grameen bank and microcredit has immense potential that will hopefully not be squandered on political considerations. This is an immensely important read for anyone interested in grassroots development solutions, which in my view are the only ones we should be pursuing.