In the mid-1970s, an economics Professor in Bangladesh had a radical idea. He decided that he would lend poor women entrepreneurs tiny sums of money, which they could use to invest in small enterprises that would bring their families a steadier income and improve their circumstances. Decades later, Professor Muhammad Yunus and his idea of microloans, as well as the institution he founded to put his ideas into practice, the Grameen Bank, have won the Nobel Peace Prize and gained worldwide acclaim.
The achievements of the Grameen Bank are currently under threat, however, as the government of Bangladesh seeks to assert its control over Grameen and its subsidiaries. RESULTS is calling on all people who support the Grameen Bank to sign a petition calling for the government of Bangladesh to respect the autonomy of Grameen, as well as the rights of its female borrowers, who are in fact a majority of the company’s shareholders thanks to the innovative system of corporate ownership created by Prof. Yunus.
