Banking for the Poor

Today, Ili and I had the privileged of going to see last year's Nobel Prize winner Dr. Yunus. Dr. Yunus was invited to Microsoft to talk about his work on microcredit and how he was inspired to create the Grameen Bank which gives loans to the poor without expecting any financial gain. It truly is a great idea that has now helped thousands of people across the world to come out of poverty and improve their life style.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus

Dr. Yunus was invited to fit in with Microsoft's annual Giving campaign. Employees are encouraged to donate throughout the month of October to nonprofit organizations in the US and across the world. Microsoft will then match the employee donations dollar for dollar. Besides donating money, we are also encouraged to donate time and help with local organizations. Last year's Giving campaign raised over $72 million.

It's good to work for such a large company that is also socially minded and recognizes it's ability to help across the world. Social responsibility is something that is usually ignored by companies and I certainly think it's something more companies need to do.

The Grameen Bank, which Dr. Yunus founded in the 70's is a purely social-business; it doesn't seek to make a profit, only what it needs to exist. It's not a charity it doesn't give anything away, therefore it doesn't create a dependency, yet it helps people raise themselves out of poverty and lead a better life.

Answering employee questions after his talk.

To find out more about microcredit, Dr. Yunus, the Grameen Bank and the Grameen Foundation, follow the links scared around this post.

It was Bill Gates' mom that suggested he start the Microsoft Giving Campaign in 1979.