NOBEL PRIZE WINNER - IT'S TIME TO START CREATING "SOCIAL BUSINESSES"
Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Prize winner best known for his Grameen Bank for the poor -- a financial institution that lends money to about seven million destitute people in Bangladesh without asking them for collateral -- has some advice for developing countries: Create ``social businesses.'' Read here what Yunus told me in an interview, my opinion about it, and let us know what YOU think.
posted by Andres Oppenheimer at 3:36 PM
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5 Comments:
Andres,
Este concepto de microcreditos ha entusiasmado hasta los banqueros suizos. No hay que tener grandes fortunas para ponerlo en practica, pero si suficiente voluntad para que no se convierta en un instrumento de clientelismo politico.
Viendo mas alla de la frontera regional, sus ideas tienen mucha cabida en las estancadas negociaciones comerciales de la OMC, proclamada la Ronda del Desarrollo pero que de desarrollo tienen poco.
Y en cuanto a tu amigo narcisista leninista, si aglgun dia te concede la entrevista, por favor no cometas el error que han cometido muchos de pensar que con ese personaje se puede hablar.
Maria Alejandra
Ginebra Suiza
Andres, your column on Yunnus is great, but from a business / economic perspective. The guy was awarded the Nobel PEACE Prize, and this is why ...
In his recent visit to Miami, Professor Mohammed Yunnus –the Poor Man’s Banker who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006- spoke before a packed ball room at the Annual Gala Dinner of the Association of Bi-National Chambers of Commerce in Florida, while picking up yet another award. From looking around the tables, you could tell his message was very well received by the close to five hundred diners, many bankers, lawyers and prominent business people among them, even though quite a few of them must have felt strongly challenged by the words of this charismatic, ever smiling and strikingly humble –despite the mounting pile of rewards and recognition his work has earned him- Bangladeshi, who stopped in Miami on his way to his own new challenge back home, a political one.
Bangladesh is a small Muslim country in the Indian sub-continent, almost the exact size of Florida, inhabited by close to one hundred and fifty million people (about half the population of the United States), and seventy five percent living in a rural (mostly poor) environment. At first glance, this set of circumstances seems to set Bangladesh apart from our own circumstances, living, as we do, in the privileged (often called developed) part of the World. But Professor Yunnus’ ideas, and his valuable work, have a universal reach and appeal that make him the most deserving –and less controversial- Nobel Peace Prize winner in many years.
Mr. Yunnus re-invented the banker’s paradigm. Since its founding in 1976, his Grameen Bank has been lending, at a fair price, to those who other banks would never deem credit-worthy, without lengthy contracts, and with no other guarantee (or security) than reliance on the borrower’s willingness to re-pay. This willingness is reinforced by both, peer-pressure (as exerted by other borrowers in the same circle or group) and self-interest, since the Grameen Bank’s borrowers (a very high percentage of them women) seem to understand one of the key elements of a free market, the acknowledgement of third party rights and interests, a lot better than many big players in the business world seem to in these days and times. In so doing, Professor Yunnus is well on his way to re-inventing (or inverting) yet another paradigm, the one exemplified by Gordon Gheko, the central character in the movie “Wall-Street”, whose claim was that “greed is good”. “Social Capitalism”, as described by Mr. Yunnus in his Miami speech, is not about loosing money –his bank is a very successful enterprise. It is about re-asserting the human side of business –and of capitalism- by rescuing the essence of fellowship as a component of human nature.
There were probably some snickers also –at least some condescending smiles- among those in Mr. Yunnus’ audience in Miami, and there will always be those who will find shortcomings in what Mr. Yunnus has been doing for the past thirty years –which is also known as micro-lending, due to the small size of the loans the Grameen Bank makes. In areas of the World stricken by poverty, the urge to solve the poverty problem often leads to the pursuit of grandiose and often very expensive institutional reforms aimed at the creation –or the release- of wealth. In that context, micro-lending can be easily dismissed as the proverbial drop of water in the middle of the ocean –although, for each individual micro-borrower, it maybe a life-changing experience. But the beauty in Professor Yunnus’ scheme is that it does not require the investment of huge resources or the time it takes to implement any kind of reforms –in fact, Yunnus would be the perfect spokesman for one of our sneaker brands: “he just does it”- while it does not compete with the other anti-poverty efforts in any kind of zero-sum games. The fight against poverty is, essentially, a fight against exclusion –as Hernando de Soto, another economist in the short list of future Nobel Prize winners has shown- and there is room (and a need) for many different useful tools in that fight. Giving access to fairly priced credit to those who don’t have it is simply one very efficient tool. Besides, Professor Yunnus is probably too good natured to snicker back at the proponents of some of these grandiose plans, whose track record is very lacking when it comes to showing a return on frequently high cost -and even higher maintenance- foreign aid programs, in countries who do not have the resources –nor the required societal consensus- to sustain that kind of investment or effort.
One last lesson form Mr Yunnus’ brief sojourn amongst us. We tend to see the World through our own eyes –that is also human nature. And we tend to think that what works for us should work for every-body else -we Americans are particularly prone to fall into that trap. Lately, we are in a hard driven surge to export our political –talk about high maintenance- and economic systems to other countries. It is a gallant, honorable and fitting pursuit, since we can still claim to be one of the best examples of a society where social justice (a flag we seldom wave as much as we should) mostly prevails –egalitarianism when it comes to opportunity is the key element of social justice, and our country is still, first and foremost, the land of opportunity it has always been. But imposing our economic or political system on other societies is not the right path as yet another brilliant economist, William Easterly, argues in a recent book. We need to find what mechanisms those other societies, through their own consensual means, deem workable, before we suggest ways in which they can make those mechanisms work more efficiently. Professor Yunnus is embarking on a political career in Bangladesh, where he has his work cut out for him. Paradoxically for someone acclaimed for, among other things, empowering women, the two preeminent political figures in Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia from the Citizens’ Power Party, and Sheikh Hasina Wajed from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, are women. He will be taking on them in a political environment that few will dispute is close to being a basket-case. Some people already see the shade of collectivism behind some of Mr. Yunnus’ ideas, but I find it hard to believe that someone who shows such high esteem for the human being can subscribe to mechanisms that are grounded on belittling people’s ability to make choices. But even if that were to be the case, let us wait and see. It will be thrilling to see Professor Yunnus’ immense creativity at work in the political field, and learn from it.
For those who are anticipating and dreading a clash of civilizations, it should be refreshing to realize that the “other” civilization can yield ideas like those of Mohammed Yunnus. For those of us concerned about the World our children and grand-children will have to live in, may many future Nobel Peace Prizes find recipients as worthy as the Poor Man’s Banker, truly a peace-maker.
José Manuel Pallí
from: Paul Thørsen
PThorsen240@aol.com
come on åndèrs, you know as well as I do, that if Latin American really wants to eliminate poverty and become a rich and prosperous region, they must do 2 things.
1) somehow develop a scientist/nerd class that makes up at least 20% of the population. Up from the 0.001% that exists now in Latin America.
2) reduce the percentage people in Latin America of a violent and criminal nature to at least 30% of the population. Down from the 90% it is at now.
How they do that is up to the people of Latin America.
JESUS RAUL PEREZ MENDEZ, chief of the Department of the Community Abroad of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and captain of the Cuban Directorate General of Intelligence (DGI) defected on July 13, 1983, and informed the following:
That the America Department of the Cuban Communist Party (DA), the ICAP, and the DGI control the ANTONIO MACEO BRIGADE (BAM), CASA DE LAS AMERICAS, CIRCULO DE CULTURA CUBANA, CENTER FOR CUBAN STUDIES, VENCEREMOS BRIGADE (VB), NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD, NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BLACK LAWYERS, PARTIDO SOCIALISTA PUERTORRIQUEÑO-NYC, AND THE COMMUNIST PARTY USA. They are all controlled by ALFREDO GARCIA ALMEIDA, chief of the North American Section of the Americas Department and former political counselor at the Cuban Mission to the United Nations in NYC, with the exception of CASA DE LAS AMERICAS, which is controlled by HECTOR MANUEL ZAYAS QUIALA, of the DGI, and second secretary of the Cuban Mission NYC.
The leaders of the BAM and the VB receive training of indoctrination in ideology, psychology, organization, propaganda techniques, interview techniques, and intelligence gathering. The groups are financed by illegal commercial activities of nartotics. The BAM serves for purposes of propaganda and intelligence. ANDRES GOMEZ, MARIANA GASTON ROCHE, ARMANDO D. GARCIA, and MANUEL R. GOMEZ CAINOS are controlled by the DGI. The ICAP considers ALBOR RUIZ SALAZAR unstable. ARMANDO D. GARCIA is a homosexual and MARIANA GASTON a prostitute.
The BAM is controlled by JESUS ARBOLEYA CERVERA, of the DGI in Cuba and former second secretary of the Cuban Mission in NYC, by way of FRANCISCO GONZALEZ ARUCA in Washington, D.C.; RAUL ALZAGA MANRESA in San Juan; MAURICIO
GASTON ROCHE and MIREM URIARTE in Boston; FELISA SOTO in Miami; ROSARIO MORENO in Los Angeles; ALICIA TORRES VIGIL in Chicago; and in New York with ARMANDO D. GARCIA, MARIANA GASTON ROCHE, ANDRES GOMEZ, AMELIA VICKIE MEDEROS, ELISEO PEREZ-STABLE and MARIFELI PEREZ-STABLE. When the BAM visits Cuba they are attended by JESUS ARBOLEYA CERVERA and NORMA PIÑEIRO, of the DGI.
RAFAEL BETANCOURT ABIO and OSVALDO ESTIVIL belong to the BAM in Miami. JOSE ANTONIO HERNANDEZ FRIAS, leader of the BAM in USA, was sent to Spain to organize the BAM there. REGINA CASAL was sent to Venezuela to organize the BAM there.
The BAM is financed by travel agencies in NYC and receive from $100 to $400 for each exile that travels to Cuba. MARAZUL was established to finance the BAM, AREITO, and the CIRCULO DE CULTURA CUBANA, the BAM receiving the majority of the funds.
The daily activities of MARAZUL are controlled by FRANCISCO GONZALEZ ARUCA from Washington, D.C., who is controlled by JESUS ARBOLEYA CERVERA from Havana.
The CIRCULO DE CULTURA CUBANA, EDICIONES VITRAL, and AREITO, are controlled by the DGI. ISIDRO GOMEZ and JESUS ARBOLEYA CERVERA, of the ICAP and the DGI, placed MARIFELI PEREZ-STABLE in charge of the CIRCULO DE CULTURA CUBANA. She substituted the deceased LOURDES CASAL, who was DGI. The annual plans of MARIFELI are prepared by the DGI and ICAP. The CIRCULO DE CULTURA CUBANA and the BAM are maintained with funds generated by EDICIONES VITRAL, by way of the sale of books and records that are gifts of the Cuban Culture Ministry and are delivered by ICAP. MARIFELI receives $100 for each tourist that travels to Cuba with the CIRCULO DE
CULTURA CUBANA. MARIFELI was infiltrated in the INSTITUTE FOR CUBAN STUDIES of MARIA CRISTINA HERRERA, whose position was made more favorable toward Cuba.
In 1981 the leaders of AREITO met in Cuba with ISIDRO GOMEZ, FAUSTINO PELAEZ, and JORGE GALLARDO FERNANDEZ, of the ICAP and the DGI, and with CARLOS RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ, of the Communist Party, whom advised AREITO not to take positions so identical with those of the Cuban government.
ARNALDO ALONSO, president of CASA DE LAS AMERICAS, directs the BUREAU OF COMMUNITY SERVICES, with offices in the same locale as MARAZUL, who ship their packages to Cuba. ANDRES GOMEZ, who lived in Washington, D.C., was financed by MARAZUL. HAROLD MAYERSON, the lawyer for MARAZUL, and member of the NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD, with MICHAEL RATNER, are controlled by the DGI.
ARNALDO ALONZO was involved in a power struggle with CARLOS GARCIA in CASA DE LAS AMERICAS, where other members are LUIS MIRANDA, who the DGI suspects of being a CIA operative; ANA MARIA GARCIA, former member of the BAM; and OSCAR RUBEN CICCONE and his wife, who also belong to the BAM, VB, and the COMMUNIST PARTY USA.
Those of the AMERICA DEPARTMENT in the Cuban Mission to the United Nations in NYC control the VECEREMOS BRIGADE. GRACIELA TABIO MEDINA, official of the DA and of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, selects the members of the VENCEREMOS BRIGADE, whose leaders are: the anthropologist JOHNNETTA COLE, DARA TORPE, EDDY DEMMINGS, MICHELLE FRANK, JACKIE RAMOS, and CAROLYN BOSCH. The first three are controlled by the AMERICA DEPARTMENT. NANI MARTINEZ, of the VB, works in the United Methodist Church in NYC. ROBERTO REGALADO ALVAREZ, of the DGI and
first secretary of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, DC, controls the VENCEREMOS BRIGADE. SANDRA LEVINSON, of the VB and director of the CENTER FOR CUBAN STUDIES, is controlled by ICAP, although the DGI considers her a CIA operative.
MIGUEL FELIPE MARQUES is the secretary general of the ALIANCE OF COMMUNITY WORKERS in Newark, NJ, whose assistant is CARLOS ZALDIVAR ESCALONA, and both are controlled by JUSTO LUIS BETANCOURT and ISAIAS PEREZ, of the DGI.
The director of the Casa Cuba in Madrid, ROSENDO CANTO HERHANDEZ, receibes $1,000 monthly from ICAP from the sale of travel tickets of exiles to Cuba. The Casa Cuba is directed by: LIDIA ANDERSON in Canada; MARINES MEDERO in Mexico; and AQUINO in Caracas.
Andres: I'm glad that you wind up generally supportive of the idea here, and wish -- since the idea seems worth developing. I get little understanding of the heart of this notion of "social business" though. It seems the aim is toward a system which would manage contributions to an institution whose purpose was to maintain financial equity/viability -- and not go past that to what might be considered individual interest of owners -- or profiteering. The members of such an institution are invited to responsible contribution, and all the advantages of organization and management of human effort are available. But what's so different here? It seems to me we've defined a situation structured as a 'trust' or a 'not for profit' -- maybe a 'cooperative'.. and none of that seems very new.
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