Muhammad Yunus set up the Grameen Bank in his home country of Bangladesh with a loan of just [pound]17, to lend tiny amounts of money to the poorest of the poor - those to whom no ordinary bank would lend. Most of his customers - as they still are - were illiterate women, wanting to set up the smallest imaginable village enterprises. It was his conviction that this new system of 'micro-credit', lending even such small sums, would give such people the spark of initiative needed to pull themselves out of poverty. Today, Yunus's system of micro-credit is practised around the world in some 60 countries, including the US, Canada and France. His Grameen Bank is now a billion-pound business. It is acknowledged by world leaders and by the World Bank to be a fundamental weapon in the fight against poverty. Banker to the Poor is Yunus's enthralling story of how he did it: how the terrible famine in Bangladesh in 1974 focused his ideas on the need to enable its victims to grow more food; how he overcame the sceptics in many governments and among traditional economic thinking; and how he saw his micro-credit extended even outside the Third World into credit unions in the West. Such is the importance of his book that HRH the Prince of Wales has contributed a Foreword in which he hails 'a remarkable man [who] spoke the greatest good sense'.
Banker to the Poor: The Story of the Grameen Bank
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'An amazing account of the way in which one man with a vision and the right values can turn the established order on its ear' - John Elkington, Guardian; 'Not only does it read as swiftly as a thriller, it turns the dreary science of development economics inside out' - --Rosemary Righter, The Times
About the Author
Muhammad Yunus was born in 1940 in Chittagong, now in Bangladesh. In 1997 he led the world's first Micro-Credit Summit in Washington DC.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Gaius Baltar
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Grameen banking is a simple but awesomely powerful concept. As described here in detail, it appears to be an answer to alleviating poverty in a wide number of circumstances. The author and founder, Muhammad Yunus has a fascinating life story both in setting up Grameen and its enterprises, and in his personal and professional life (the section on setting up a government in exile for Bangladesh whilst an academic in Nashville is very well told with the level of passion that marks all he writes). The pen pictures of typical Grameen customers are truly involving, and really illustrate how the concept works in simple human terms.
There is however a problem with this book. It was written in 1997 and published in 1998. It says inside that it was reissued as a paperback in 2003, and the cover of this edition flags the Nobel Prize award in 2006, so this isnt old stock still being sold. There is nothing inside the book more recent than financial forecasts for 1998. As well as reviewing the history of Grameen, the book also has short chapters on Grameen's entry in mobile phones and Internet provision. Just think how the world has changed in these fields since then.
So time for a new revised edition...
There is however a problem with this book. It was written in 1997 and published in 1998. It says inside that it was reissued as a paperback in 2003, and the cover of this edition flags the Nobel Prize award in 2006, so this isnt old stock still being sold. There is nothing inside the book more recent than financial forecasts for 1998. As well as reviewing the history of Grameen, the book also has short chapters on Grameen's entry in mobile phones and Internet provision. Just think how the world has changed in these fields since then.
So time for a new revised edition...
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What can you say about a man who has changed the world for over 2 million people? Not single-handedly, because his bank had 12,000 employees when he wrote this book, and there are other banks now, that follow the same model - but he was the one who started it all.
If you've ever noticed that your bank only wants to give you money if you don't need it - here's how the other kind of bank would look.
He's an egalitarian Muslim, and he does his best thinking with the T.V. on. I've been waiting a long time for a super-hero with respect for the idiot box.
This is a really hopeful book. It doesn't have all the answers, but it has a bunch of fascinating questions to take down the pub with you. Read it, lend it, review it - stick a bookcrossing label in it and give it to your bank manager. Swap it for a Big Issue, mail it to your MP. What are you waiting for?
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By F. Hache
Format:Paperback
This is the book that made me want to know more about microfinance, I found it very inspiring and Dr Yunus became my personal hero.
I then learned more about microfinance, talked to senior microfinance experts, and even though microfinance is indeed a powerfull tool to fight poverty, it is not the panacea it sometimes claims to be.
Microfinance can have a negative impact on social fabric, increasing tensions inside communities, it can also be used by governments of developping countries as a way to privatise social welfare, typically after massive lay-offs from the private sector(why spend public money on unemployment benefits, minimum wage, let's bring microfinance instead to help the poor..).
I don't mean to sound cynical or disillusioned, my point is just that overselling microfinance and creating unrealistic expectations doesn't help microfinance, better know from the beginning that it's good but far from the perfect and ultimate solution to end world poverty.
And btw, Dr Yunus didn't invent microfinance, it existed 100 years ago already.
I then learned more about microfinance, talked to senior microfinance experts, and even though microfinance is indeed a powerfull tool to fight poverty, it is not the panacea it sometimes claims to be.
Microfinance can have a negative impact on social fabric, increasing tensions inside communities, it can also be used by governments of developping countries as a way to privatise social welfare, typically after massive lay-offs from the private sector(why spend public money on unemployment benefits, minimum wage, let's bring microfinance instead to help the poor..).
I don't mean to sound cynical or disillusioned, my point is just that overselling microfinance and creating unrealistic expectations doesn't help microfinance, better know from the beginning that it's good but far from the perfect and ultimate solution to end world poverty.
And btw, Dr Yunus didn't invent microfinance, it existed 100 years ago already.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Banker To The Poor - challenging how persistence always brings...
Interested in the story of Mohammad Yunus for a long time and had this book on my wish list. I am so glad that I took the time to order it and read through the challenges, trials... Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2011 by PBill
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Entrepreneur's story
The Grameen Bank story is well known by now, and you don't need to read this book to get an overview of it. Read more
Published on 9 Dec 2010 by N. Jensen
5.0 out of 5 stars
inspiring
have heard about Micro Finance since many years. Finally got hold of a book by the father of Micro Finance. Excellent book. Amazing how much this great man has done to humanity. Read more
Published on 21 Dec 2009 by Eva W
5.0 out of 5 stars
Banker To The Poor
A humble account by a remarkable man and his story of creating Grameen Bank; A bank set up to break the poverty cycle Bangladeshis are in thanks to high rates of interest from... Read more
Published on 3 July 2009 by Lindsey Round-Turner
5.0 out of 5 stars
a necessary read
If we are going to shift society somewhat we need to read and act on this man's achievements.Written in an easy to read style giving info on the banking system combined with real... Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2009 by karen bennett
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yunus The Man - Yunus The Myth Buster
This is a fascinating book about a fascinating man. Read though if you want to understand about what made this man great not whether micro loans really are the best way to assist... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2008 by Barry Phillips
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