Inspiring: “His first loan consisted of $27 in total, which Dr. Yunus used to
help 42 basket weavers regain their dignity and independence from creditors (who charged exorbitant interest rates and yielded mere
pennies in profits). What followed was a lifelong pledge and journey of
an educator turned banker, who arms the poorest of the poor with the
tools and means to become financially independent. He firmly believes
that poverty is not created by the poor, but rather is a system we have
created. To prove this point, he has given loans to nearly 100,000
beggars and has seen 10,000 of them completely stop begging and 90,000
of them transformed into entrepreneurs in their own right. The Grameen
Bank has the highest recovery rate of any banking system in the world with 98 percent of the loans being paid back.

How does technology play a part? Grameen’s “phone ladies”
are widespread across rural communities in Bangladesh, offering the use
of mobile phones for a fee. By loaning out cell phones on a per call
basis and putting them in the hands of the rural poor (many of whom
have never seen a telephone before), these women become the central
access point to information technology and the rest of the world.”