Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty

Amazon.com

It began with a simple $27 loan. After witnessing the cycle of poverty that kept many poor women enslaved to high-interest loan sharks in Bangladesh, Dr. Muhammad Yunus lent money to 42 women so they could purchase bamboo to make and sell stools. In a short time, the women were able to repay the loans while continuing to support themselves and their families. With that initial eye-opening success, the seeds of the Grameen Bank, and the concept of microcredit, were planted.

After earning a Ph.D. in economics at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Yunus returned to Bangladesh to settle into a life as a professor. But a famine in 1974 ravaged the country, leading Dr. Yunus to alter his thinking and his life profoundly: "What good were all my complex theories when people were dying of starvation on the sidewalks and porches across from my lecture hall?.... Nothing in the economic theories I taught reflected the life around me." Armed with little more than a lofty dream to end the suffering around him, he started an experimental microcredit enterprise in 1977; by 1983 the Grameen Bank was officially formed.

The idea behind the Grameen Bank is ingeniously simple: extend credit to poor people and they will help themselves. This concept strikes at the root of poverty by specifically targeting the poorest of the poor, providing small loans (usually less than $300) to those unable to obtain credit from traditional banks. At Grameen, loans are administered to groups of five people, with only two receiving their money up front. As soon as these two make a few regular payments, loans are gradually extended to the rest of the group. In this way, the program builds a sense of community as well as individual self-reliance. Most of the Grameen Bank's loans are to women, and since its inception, there has been an astonishing loan repayment rate of over 98 percent.

Banker to the Poor is an inspiring memoir of the birth of microcredit, written in a conversational tone that makes it both moving and enjoyable to read. The Grameen Bank is now a $2.5 billion banking enterprise in Bangladesh, while the microcredit model has spread to over 50 countries worldwide, from the U.S. to Papua New Guinea, Norway to Nepal. Ever optimistic, Yunus travels the globe spreading the belief that poverty can be eliminated: "...the poor, once economically empowered, are the most determined fighters in the battle to solve the population problem; end illiteracy; and live healthier, better lives. When policy makers finally realize that the poor are their partners, rather than bystanders or enemies, we will progress much faster that we do today." Dr. Yunus's efforts prove that hope is a global currency. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

This autobiography of the world-renowned, visionary economist who came up with a simple but revolutionary solution to end world poverty--micro-credit--has become the classic text for a growing movement.

In 1983 Muhammad Yunus established Grameen, a bank devoted to providing the poorest of Bangladesh with miniscule loans. He aimed to help the poor by supporting the spark of personal initiative and enterprise by which they could lift themselves out of poverty forever. It was an idea born on a day in 1976 when he loaned $27 from his own pocket to forty-two people living in a tiny village. They were stool makers who only needed enough credit to purchase the raw materials for their trade. Yunus's loan helped them break the cycle of poverty and changed their lives forever. His solution to world poverty, founded on the belief that credit is a fundamental human right, is brilliantly simple: loan poor people money on terms that are suitable to them, teach them a few sound financial principles, and they will help themselves.

Yunus's theories work. Grameen Bank has provided 3.8 billion dollars to 2.4 million families in rural Bangladesh. Today, more than 250 institutions in nearly 100 countries operate micro-credit programs based on the Grameen methodology, placing Grameen at the forefront of a burgeoning world movement toward eradicating poverty through micro-lending.

Customer Reviews:

Turning Inspiration into Action.......2007-10-05

Not wanting to repeat the accolades mentioned in the reviews posted I would like to instead share how reading this book and meeting Yunus was a catalyst to some actions I took both on a personal and professional level. The intent is not self promotion or to showcase my efforts. Instead, I am providing ideas and addressing those of you who may find, as I did, that after finishing the last page you are left with a desire to do something. The dilemma was what could I do ......I am not a bank or live in a developing country. I did give copies of the book to friends, colleagues and family but I wanted to do something more concrete. Well, with micro finance "on my radar" I took some actions both on a personal and professional level that I hope are making a difference and are in some ways increasing the visibility and awareness of micro financing.

First a little background and comments on the book.....I had the great honor of meeting Mohammad Yunus shortly after he received the Nobel Peace prize in 2006 at an event in Paris sponsored by Planet Finance. Yunus is truly an inspirational person, charismatic in a subtle way, who has touched the lives of many. His enthusiasm is contagious. The book Banker to the Poor is a fascinating read.... humorous, touching and informational as it traces the evolution of the micro finance model from concept (starting with Yunus lending the equivalent of $27 to stool makers) to what it is today with over 7.2 million clients. What resonates with me is the idea of lending versus aid dumps from the World Bank, UN, NGO's and charity organizations. I don't want to discount the millions given as direct charity to the needy but the concept of micro finance creates a sense of pride and responsibility not to mention innovation and creativity. Micro finance can also generate incremental improvement versus charity or outright donations which, in many cases dries up, is short term and results in dependence instead of empowerment.

Some actions I took:

* I became aware of KIVA (www.kiva.org) an organization that facilitates micro loans (as little as $25) from individuals like you and I to a specific entrepreneur in a developing world empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. These individuals are in fact showcased on the site where you can see a picture and read about the entrepreneur you have chosen. KIVA is founded by an impressive team of "Social Entrepreneurs". Using technology, KIVA brings the lenders and borrowers together and provides an online community for lenders who are also showcased on the site. Involving my daughter (10) in the decision process we are lending to an entrepreneur in Samoa, so she can buy timber to improve her greenhouse for her flower business.
* As President of my alumni association (Thunderbird) I organized an event around Micro Financing with the Managing Director of Planet Rating, a microfinance rating agency, as a guest speaker.
* At a university in Paris I run a project based course involving teams of MBA students. Proposing a project related to micro finance the students were enthusiastic and completed a study on micro finance in Europe.
* Professionally, I work with individuals in career transition and entrepreneurs in helping them to identify their unique strengths and values and message their brand appropriately both online and offline. Fundamentally, I find that people have a social conscious and want to do something concrete. To this end I suggest lending to a KIVA entrepreneur as a way to concretely incorporate a social conscious into their brand.
* As part of my involvement in a Global Telesummit entitled a Brand You World www.personalbrandingsummit.com I am involved in raising $100,000 in loans for KIVA entrepreneurs in the developing world. Incidentally, Kiva was featured on Oprah and is mentioned in Clinton's book "Giving".

Having shared how I was inspired by reading this book I would be more then interested in hearing how it inspired you and what actions you took.

Bernadette

Bernadette Martin
www.visibilitybranding.com

Enlightening work.......2007-08-12

Muhammad Yunus believed that every human being had a basic right to credit. He believed in the human spirit and peoples' hard work and honesty when given a chance to sustain themselves above poverty. His accomplishments have proven his theory over and over in several countries to millions of people. Micro-lending will surely be a part of the future success in Africa, Asia, and South America. A modified form of Mr. Yunus' model has worked in the USA, unfortunately, we as Americans aren't schooled nor molded to be basic entrepreneurs. We must change our school systems from teaching how to become good employees to how to become entrepreneurs as well. Mr. Yunus' model includes 5 person groups to help each other and support each other when one gets behind in loan repayments and/or family crisis. This is a very important requirement to micro-lending and must not be excluded when trying to duplicate the success of the Grameen Bank.
Thank goodness we have people in our world like Muhammad Yunus to teach us how to treat other human beings.

Poverty should be extinct!.......2007-08-09

This book is a testament to the good one can do to millions of people!

Poverty belongs in museums! One day, thanks to humanitarians like Muhammad Yunus, poverty will be something of the past and totally extinct, and the next generation will wonder how poverty was ever allowed to exist within our midst. Indeed that will be a glorious day!

Professor Yunus recounts his early life living in India, Bangladesh, and then in the United States. He was born in 1940 in British-ruled India. He was one of fourteen children born to devout Muslim parents. His mother was often ill, but despite this, his father never left her. Yunus later obtained a scholarship to study in the States, earned a Ph.D. in economics at Vanderbilt University, and later became a professor. He once commented to his students, "What good were all my complex theories when people were dying of starvation on the sidewalks and porches across from my lecture hall? Nothing in the economic theories I taught reflected the life around me."

As a young man he was very involved in the independence of Bangladesh when hundreds of thousands died, and many more after Bangladesh declared itself independent. The country was devastated, and stripped of its natural resources. Professor Yunus quickly left the US and headed to Bangladesh in order to help create a government, and thus get international help and support.

He was very concerned about the poor, and decided to help them. He was surprised why banks did not lend them money. Also the majority of the poor couldn't write or read, so they couldn't even fill out the forms required by banks in order to obtain a loan.

Grameen Bank (The name means the "bank of the village") was thus started in 1976 as an experimental project to combat rural poverty by providing credit to the very poor. Professor Yunus loaned $27 from his own pocket to forty-two stool makers living in a tiny village. These women only needed enough credit to purchase the raw materials for their trade. Yunus's small loan helped them break the cycle of poverty for good. Throughout the book you'll read of many such success stories.

Professor Yunus faced a lot of obstacles in creating his bank. He was accused by the Muslim clergy (Mullahs) of wanting to destroy Islamic traditions, and of promoting Christian values in Bangladesh. Some of his staff were even threatened. This was due to the fact that the bank encourages women to take loans and work, something of a taboo and highly unacceptable to Muslim women living in Bangladesh. In fact, many women were beaten by their husbands for the mere mention of money, let alone taking a loan. Women were also not encouraged to receive an education or work. Professor Yunus says, "All her life she has been told that she is no good, that she brings only misery to her family, and that they cannot afford to pay her dowry. Many times she hears her mother or her father tell her she should have been killed at birth, aborted, or starved. But today, for the first time in her life, an institution has trusted her with a great sum of money. She promises that she will never let down the institution or herself. She will struggle to make sure that every penny is paid back (65)."

In 1983 Grameen Bank (GB) was officially established. It is unique in that it has reversed conventional banking practices by removing the need for collateral and created a banking system based on mutual trust. It promotes credit as a human right. Its mission is to help the poor families to help themselves to overcome poverty by issuing them with microcredits (very small amounts, like $7, something a conventional bank would never do). It is offered for creating self-employment for income-generating activities and housing, as opposed to consumption. It is particularly targeted towards poor women. It provides service at the door-step of the poor based on the principle that the people should not go to the bank; the bank should go to the people. This principal is helpful in a Muslim society where women are not allowed to leave their homes without the approval of their husband, and are not allowed to speak with men.

In order to obtain loans a borrower must join a group of borrowers, with each borrower recommending another. If one member of the group defaults on payment of his loan, then the whole group is denied further loans! However, to encourage destitute members to join, he/she does not have to belong to a group, no saving is necessary, no weekly repayment is necessary, his/her loan terms are decided by him/her, in consultation with his/her mentor.

A member is considered to have moved out of poverty if her family fulfills the following criteria:

1. The family lives in a house worth at least Tk. 25,000 (twenty five thousand) or a house with a tin roof, and each member of the family is able to sleep on bed instead of on the floor.
2. Family members drink pure water.
3. All children in the family over six years of age go to school or have finished primary school.
4. Minimum weekly loan installment of the borrower is Tk. 200 or more.
5. Family uses sanitary latrine.
6. Family has adequate clothing for everyday use and for winter, and mosquito-nets.
7. Family has sources of additional income, such as a vegetable garden, so that they are able to fall back on these sources of income when they need additional money.
8. The borrower maintains an average annual balance of Tk. 5,000 in his/her savings accounts.
9. Family has three square meals a day throughout the year. No member of the family goes hungry any time of the year.
10. If any member of the family falls ill, family can afford to take all necessary steps to seek adequate healthcare.

Professor Yunus distrusted dealing with the World Bank. According to professor Yunus, the world bank, with its headquarters away from Bangladesh, does not see poverty, but relies on theories. He also was wary of how they took full control of a country's financial needs.

There were a number of major natural disasters in Bangladesh. The 1998 flood was the worst of all. Half of the country was under flood-water for ten long weeks. Grameen borrowers lost most of their possessions including their houses because of the flood. Soon borrowers started to feel the burden of accumulated loans. They found the new installment sizes exceeded their capacity to repay. Grameen Bank repayment started to show quick decline. This was a good opportunity to design a new Grameen methodology, incorporating all the lessons learnt. As a result, Grameen Bank II was created.

The bank believes that the poor always pay back their loans, unlike the very rich. On some occasions they may take longer time to pay back than it was originally stipulated. Many things can go wrong for a poor person during the loan period. According to professor Yunus, since the borrower is paying additional interest for the extra time, where is the problem?

Grameen Bank has introduced higher education loans for all students who can enter into the higher educational institutions (medical, engineering, etc). Students are made responsible to repay the loans when they start earning. Half the scholarships are reserved for girl students. The remaining 50 per cent is open for both boys and girls. Each year Grameen Bank gives out 3,704 scholarships.

Grameen believes that poverty is not created by the poor; it is created by the institutions and policies which surround them. In order to eliminate poverty, all we need to do is to make appropriate changes in the institutions and policies, and/or create new ones.

Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank of Bangladesh won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

As of May, 2007, Grameen Bank had 7.21 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2431 branches, it provides services in 78,659 villages, covering more than 94 percent of the total villages in Bangladesh.

About 3 billion people live on less than $1 per day. Professor Yunus' vision is of eliminating poverty by 2050.

This is really a fascinating book and I highly recommend it.

Great for those interested in poverty relief/development.......2007-08-07

After reading, we bought multiple copies to give away to colleagues working in various capacities in poor areas of the world. Yunus' ideas and experience need to be examined and considered. This is no World Bank/UN/WMF big program aid-dump, but a reasonable, realistic, measured path from poverty to empowerment for the world's poor.

Lateral Banking.......2007-07-03

Learn how limiting entrenched Eurocentric thinking can be. Be inspired by the lateral thinking of Muhammad Yunus! A heartwarming read with just a touch too much description of the complexities of beaurocracy, but a must read nevertheless.

El Banquero De Los Pobres/ Banker of the Poor: Los Microcreditos y la Batalla COntra la Pobreza en el Mundo / Micro Lending and the Battle Against World ... (Estado Y Sociedad / State and Society)

Average customer rating:

El Banquero De Los Pobres/ Banker of the Poor: Los Microcreditos y la Batalla COntra la Pobreza en el Mundo / Micro Lending and the Battle Against World ... (Estado Y Sociedad / State and Society)
Muhammad Yunus
Manufacturer: Ediciones Paidos Iberica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Banks & Banking | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Conditions | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty

ASIN: 8449318300

Banker to the Poor.(Review) (book review): An article from: Finance & Development

Average customer rating:

Banker to the Poor.(Review) (book review): An article from: Finance & Development
Paul Streeten
Manufacturer: International Monetary Fund
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Finance & Development, published by International Monetary Fund on March 1, 2000. The length of the article is 885 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Banker to the Poor.(Review) (book review)
Author: Paul Streeten
Publication: Finance & Development (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2000
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Volume: 37 Issue: 1 Page: 54

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty.: An article from: Journal of International Affairs

Average customer rating:

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty.: An article from: Journal of International Affairs
Tim Buthe
Manufacturer: Columbia University School of International Public Affairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of International Affairs, published by Columbia University School of International Public Affairs on March 22, 2000. The length of the article is 1738 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty.
Author: Tim Buthe
Publication: Journal of International Affairs (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2000
Publisher: Columbia University School of International Public Affairs
Volume: 53 Issue: 2 Page: 741

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

Banker to the Poor
Muhammad Yunnus
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Nonfiction | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000OJL86C

Product Description

Winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize

Book Description

As with previous volumes in Research in Organizational Change and Development, volume 11 contains papers that range from explorations of individual action in organizational change to studies of multiple organizations. The change and development field continues to explore new theoretical frames, research methods, and change practice. The chapters in this volume further demonstrate the expanding boundaries of the field.

Book Description

Agricultural Productivity: Measurement and Sources of Growth addresses measurement issues and techniques in agricultural productivity analysis, applying those techniques to recently published data sets for American agriculture. The data sets are used to estimate and explain state level productivity and efficiency differences, and to test different approaches to productivity measurement. The rise in agricultural productivity is the single most important source of economic growth in the U.S. farm sector, and the rate of productivity growth is estimated to be higher in agriculture than in the non-farm sector. It is important to understand productivity sources and to measure its growth properly, including the effects of environmental externalities. Both the methods and the data can be accessed by economists at the state level to conduct analyses for their own states. In a sense, although not explicitly, the book provides a guide to using the productivity data available on the website of the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Economic Research Service. It should be of interest to a broad spectrum of professionals in academia, the government, and the private sector.

Ball, V. Eldon and Norton, George W. Agricultural Productivity: Measurement and Sources of Growth.(Book Review): An article from: American Journal of Agricultural Economics

Average customer rating:

Ball, V. Eldon and Norton, George W. Agricultural Productivity: Measurement and Sources of Growth.(Book Review): An article from: American Journal of Agricultural Economics
Timothy J. Dalton
Manufacturer: American Agricultural Economics Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00084HY98
Release Date: 2005-08-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Journal of Agricultural Economics, published by American Agricultural Economics Association on November 1, 2004. The length of the article is 647 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ball, V. Eldon and Norton, George W. Agricultural Productivity: Measurement and Sources of Growth.(Book Review)
Author: Timothy J. Dalton
Publication: American Journal of Agricultural Economics (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2004
Publisher: American Agricultural Economics Association
Volume: 86 Issue: 4 Page: 1153(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Molecular dynamics simulations have become instrumental in replacing our view of proteins as relatively rigid structures with the realization that they were dynamic systems, whose internal motions play a functional role. Over the years, such simulations have become a central part of biophysics. Applications of molecular dynamics in biophysics range over many areas. They are used in the structure determination of macromolecules with x-ray and NMR data, the modelling of unknown structures from their sequence, the study of enzyme mechanisms, the estimation of ligand-binding free energies, the evaluation of the role of conformational change in protein function, and drug design for targets of known structures.

The widespread application of molecular dynamics and related methodologies suggests that it would be useful to have available an introductory self-contained course by which students with a relatively limited background in chemistry, biology and computer literacy, can learn the fundamentals of the field. This Guide to Biomolecular Simulations tries to fill this need. The Guide consists of six chapters which provide the fundamentals of the field and six chapters which introduce the reader to more specialized but important applications of the methodology.

Customer Reviews:

The book IS NOW shipped with the required CD.......2006-06-03

This is not truly a review (I had to give a rate because it is compulsory when submitting a review to Amazon), since for following this book one would require all the materials needed to perform the practical "labs" in what it is divided. Particularly, the book should be shipped along with a CD including files and data necessary for the "labs". The book mentions that a CD is distributed with it, but in fact this CD was not sent. I contacted the publishers but had no answer. One of the authors very swiftly and kindly answered to my request and he promptly told the publishers about the problem. Apparently the CD should be shipped soon, although I have not heard yet from the publishers.
This comment is just to tell people to wait and buy the book only when it is announced to have a companion CD.

Computer Simulation of Biomolecular Systems: A Practical Guide

Average customer rating:

Computer Simulation of Biomolecular Systems: A Practical Guide
Van Gunsteren
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Biotechnology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Biotechnology | Special Topics | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books