lend a little. change a lot. January 31, 2008

Last week I visited the Philadelphia Free Library-Central Branch to hear an amazing person speak-Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

Brief info about Dr. Yunus:
“One of the ”Greatest Entrepreneurs of All Time” (BusinessWeek), economist Muhammad Yunus received the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Grameen Bank, which he founded to provide microloans to poor entrepreneurs otherwise unable to qualify for traditional bank loans. Contrary to the assertions of skeptical critics, 98% of these microloans are repaid, higher than any other banking system, and similar projects now operate in much of the world, including the United States.”

I had read articles about the work of Dr. Yunus and was truly amazed and excited to actually hear what he had to say in person. After arriving almost an hour early for the lecture, I headed downstairs to the auditorium and claimed a seat three rows from the stage. Slowly the room began to fill up and everyone was buzzing.

When Dr. Yunus finally made his way onto the stage he was greeted with a hearty anticipatory applause that would be well deserved. He spoke about how he started Grameen Bank and the journey he took to get it where it is. He made simple statements that were so powerful and inspirational, that they seemed to be hitting everyone in the soul.

His initial desire to help others came about when he saw poverty around him and felt “useless as a human being”, which pushed him to lend money to help others change their lives. This concept of “lending” is so important. If we lend time and money we are essentially investing in a better future.

Yunus also proposed that we have Social MBAs to teach prospective business owners how lead businesses that are socially conscious. He also spoke of a social stock market, where we would invest in companies that we knew were doing something good for the world. It’s about having “social business dollars [that] have an endless life and can recycle.” As he neared the end of his lecture, he asked us to imagine the day that we would need a poverty museum to show the horrors and injustices that we evolved from. Think about that for a second.

I left feeling enlightened and invigorated. During my walk home I started thinking about how important it is to transform the world from the inside out. It all comes down to our souls, hearts and our genuine care for the people in our world. We need to stop worrying about the exterior–the landscapes, the plastic surgery, and the clothes–and start looking inward. Dr. Yunus has created a bank that will change the world-he has done the hard work-now all we need to do is invest in mankind.

I could write pages about my experience-but instead I’ll just recommend that you listen the mp3 of his lecture. Huge thanks to the Free Library for the mp3 and for bringing life changing speakers like Dr. Yunus to Philadelphia!