Banker to the Poor
The Author: Muhammad Yunus was born in Chittagong, a seaport in Bangladesh. He was educated at Dhaka University and was awarded a Fullbright Scholarship to study economics at Vanderbilt University. In 1972, he became head of economics department at Chittagong University. he is the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank. He is a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
What it is all about: This is a great book! It teaches me to believe that majority of the world population are hardworking and honest. At first Yunus loaned $27 from his pocket to 42 stool makers living in a tiny village. He then went to local bank but failed to persuade the manager to provide small loan to the poor.The bank did not believe in two things. First, the loan would not change the life of the poorest family in the region. Second, the poor would not be able to pay back the loan in time.
As a result, Yunus founded Grameen Bank and helped these villagers to come out of the poverty cycle by providing micro lending scheme. the result was impressive! The loan repayment rate was almost 100% !!
This is one of my favourite book. Poor people is among the most honest person in this world.
How Much? : RM67 from Kinokuniya (273 pages)
Check the website here.
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