Grameen and the Revolutionary Ideas it Represents

Ever since reading about the Grameen Bank's foundation in Banker for the Poor, I have been fascinated by Muhammed Yunus' last recommendation to us all to explore the the "Social Conscious Driven Business Sector". This sector works like a private business in that it sells a service, but instead of increasing salaries, it intentionally allocates its profit back into the community and self-eliminates excess.

Yunus argues that social good can be just as big of a motivator and catalyst for competition as profit. The key is to design a system that so perfectly encapsulates both a demand and desired social impact.

The beauty of Grameen, is that people in poverty create their own wealth by their "survival skills". The poor aren't poor because they don't have the right knowledge, "the poor are poor because they cannot retain the returns of their labor. They have no control over capital which gives people the power to rise out of poverty."  Grameen created the system of micro-lending we know today that gives people the chance they need to build their own business and reap the full rewards of their labor. In return, the bank receives interest on the loan and enough profit to continue as a business.

The Work Ahead

Grameen Bank was founded in roughly 1976 and the world has simmered on its work and the ideas it represents for a few decades already. Yunus leaves it to us to pick up where Grameen has left off. Instead of waiting for businesses to shape up, let us create businesses to shape the world ourselves.