Creating a World Without Poverty: How Social Business Can Transform Our Lives

"Economics professor Yunus claims he 'originally became involved in the poverty issue not as a policy-maker, scholar, or researcher, but because poverty was all around me.' With these words he stopped teaching 'elegant theories' and began lending small amounts of money, $40 or less, without collateral, to the poorest women in the world. Thirty-three years later, the Grameen Bank has helped seven million people live better lives building businesses to serve the poor. The bank is solidly profitable, with a 98.6% repayment rate. It inspired the micro-credit movement, which has helped 100 million of the poorest people in the world escape poverty and earned Yunus (Banker to the Poor) a Nobel Peace prize. This volume efficiently recounts the story of microcredit, then discusses 'Social Business,' organizations designed to help people while turning profits. French food giant Danone's partnership to market yogurt in Bangladesh is described in detail, along with 25 other businesses that operate under the Grameen banner. Infused with entrepreneurial spirit and the excitement of a worthy challenge, this book is the opposite of pessimistic recitals of intractable poverty's horrors." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

How Social Business Can Transform Our Lives

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize outlines his vision for a new business model that combines the power of free markets with the quest for a more humane world — and tells the inspiring stories of companies that are doing this work today.