Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank

Awarded for

Efforts to create economic and social development from below, through microcredit

The story behind the prize

In 1976 Yunus lent US$27 of his own money to 42 poor women in the village of Jobra. Grameen Bank, founded formally in 1983, lends small sums to the poor without collateral, using groups of borrowers who support each other. The microcredit model spread around the world.

About

Economist from Chittagong who founded Grameen Bank, which gives small loans without collateral to the poor, mostly women.

Exam facts

• First Bangladeshi Nobel laureate
• Known as the 'banker to the poor'; pioneer of microfinance
• Led Bangladesh's interim government as Chief Adviser from August 2024