Entrepreneur Bio: Muhammad Yunus There are many people who have redefined the field of entrepreneurship through their desire to create a business that would bring them success. These examples of enterprising individuals have served as role models for those who wish to become entrepreneurs themselves. However, the world can be a tough and challenging place and unfortunately there are many who would love to start a business that simply do not have the means to do so. And oftentimes these people need to find some way of making profit on their own or they will literally not have enough money to feed themselves and their families. It is those people, along with the world as a whole, who are most thankful for the impact that Muhammad Yunus has made in the entrepreneurship community. Through his compassion that spurred him to make a meaningful difference and his genius that allowed him to do so, Yunus helped people from all over the world to become profitable entrepreneurs, providing for themselves while learning how to successfully run a business.
His Early Years Yunus was born in 1940 to a Muslim family in what is now the country of Bangladesh. His father was a jeweler, which led his family to living in the city of Chittagong. Yunus had an active childhood, excelling in school while also taking part in the Boy Scout program. While at the Chittagong College, he even tried his hand at some cultural activities, winning awards for drama.
Further Learning After he graduated in Economics, Yunus joined the Bureau of Economics as a research assistant, and later on began lecturing on the subject. He learned business administration from a successful packaging factory in his spare time. He then went on to received a Fulbright scholarship to study in the United States, where he received a PhD in Economics from Vanderbilt University. After his further studies, the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 prompted him to found a citizen’s committee to raise support for liberation. He later returned to Bangladesh were he observed that the famine of 1974 played a huge part in the poverty and terrible living conditions of a large majority of people. He worked hard to enact governmental projects to help stimulate the economy and reduce poverty.
Microloans It was during his visits to poor households around Chittagong University that he discovered how small loans could make an enormous difference to poor people. Most banks wouldn’t agree to such loans, but Yunus believed that the poor would repay their loans if given the chance. Yunus started by lending $27 to 42 women, creating the concept of microcredit.
Expansion Yunus continued with this model, which grew to be quite successful. In 1983, the project became the Grameen Bank, which specialized in loaning out small amounts of money to the poor. By 2007, Grameen Bank had issued over $6 billion to 7.4 million borrowers. Yunus’ attention to the poor has helped millions of people create their own livelihood. He redefined what it meant to fight poverty and was awarded a Noble Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts.