Congratulations Professor Yunus

One of the charities that I support with this blog (I give all of my ad revenue from this blog to charity) is The Grameen Foundation.

The Grameen Foundation uses a microfinance (microlending) approach to addressing global poverty.

Well this week, Grameen and microfinance got a big boost.

The founder of The Grameen Bank, Professor Muhammad Yunus, received the Nobel Peace Prize. That's a big deal and shows how important and potent microfinance is. Congratulations Professsor Yunus.

Comments

[Ken Liffiton @ Grameen Foundation]

Thanks Fred for this post and all of your support. It's a very exciting time for microfinance, and the outpouring of enthusiasm from bloggers has been great. Right now, a Technorati search on "Grameen" pulls up over 100 posts since yesterday morning (including this one) -- and that's just scratching the surface, looking at blogs Technorati puts in the "a lot of authority" club. It's really amazing.

[Charlie Crystle]

Fred,

what Grameen has done over the past 30 or so years has been a great model for sustainable practices, socially responsible business practices, and a belief in the spirit of all people, especially the poor.

I'm wrapping up my weekend in Tucson at the annual open Social Venture Network conference, and the mood around the award has been amazing and inspiring. There are people and businesses worldwide committed to the "triple bottom line" of people, planet, and profit, reflecting the values of Grameen and other action leaders in sustainability and socialy responsible businesses.

The venture world should start evaluating that model, and perhaps endorse a framework, a set of principles for social responsibility. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that. Thanks!

[Grant]

Nice human interest piece on Frontline World tonight about microlending and kiva.org. Really puts a human face on it.