Nation-Building Lifetime Achievement Award (People Sector)
Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus
Nobel Prize Laurette, Founder of the Grameen Bank
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yunus has helped millions to escape poverty. He was brave to initiate the project to provide collateral free loans to the poor which later became a full-fledge bank or so-called Grameen Bank. This bank established pioneering concepts of microcredits and microfinance to create economic and social development from below: women and the poor in rural areas of Bangladesh. He empowers women to gain self-esteem and have equal rights to men. Therefore, he is a key person who raises an awareness of the importance of women and the poor in society. Nowadays, micro-credit, as his creation, is now a global phenomenon which has affected the lives of about 1 billion people around the world.