Micro_¶ nance guru Nobel winner to speak

A speech today by 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus has attracted more interest than Koury Auditorium can hold.

Yunus who received the award for his work alleviating poverty in developing countries will speak about the role of microfinance to achieve social justice.

As of last week about 1"200 people had e-mailed organizers saying they wanted to hear the lecture. The auditorium holds fewer than 400 people.

""Yunus is the biggest person we've had speak here in my four years"" said Ryan Leatham, general coordinator for the Carolina Microfinance Initiative.

In 1976, Yunus, then a professor of economics at University of Chittagong in Bangladesh, began advocating the concept of microcredit — a system that provides small, collateral-free loans to the poor so that they can begin to pull themselves out of poverty.

Yunus was one of the first people to advocate such a system, which has proven successful in developing countries across the world.

Today, Yunus' concept has grown into the Grameen Bank, an internationally recognized microfinance bank with more than 7 million borrowers in 83,566 villages in Bangladesh.

Intellectual capital and entrepreneurial ability exists everywhere" but it is opportunity that separates us" Leatham said.

The success of Grameen, which means rural"" in Bangla""  has encouraged the creation of thousands of microfinance initiatives worldwide.

""Yunus is charismatic" but humble" said Lisa Jones Christensen, a professor at the business school. He's an important example of someone fighting for social change.""

The Nobel winner waived his honorarium" payment for his speech but the University purchased multiple copies of his new book" ""Creating a World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism"" which will be available for signing after the lecture.

Christensen said microfinance works because it's based on a system of self-reliance and trust. Loans typically are given to women,  because they invest the money into the home and choose to spend it on children and clothes. Women have a 98 percent payback rate.

It's not a hand out but a hand up"" Leatham said.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.