RALEIGH, N.C. – Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Prize winner for his work developing a micro-lending institution in his native Bangladesh, is planning to use his framework to develop credit unions in the U.S.
Yunis has been working with North Carolina regulators; The Center for Community
Yunis has started a U.S. version of his Grameen Bank, called Grameen America, in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, N.Y., which has lent $1.2 million to 440 self-employed, low-income women.
Yunus, speaking at a forum in Washington yesterday to promote his latest book, "Creating a World Without Poverty," said he was seeking a US credit union license so Grameen "can work in any state."
Under the Grameen model, to get a loan, a member must join a five-person group. Members are taught the tenets of personal finance, as well as basics on how to operate a business. They then open a bank account, depositing a fixed amount every week for five weeks, in an effort to get people in the habit of saving.
Yunus, the founder of Grameen, will be in North Carolina on Thursday to promote the initiative. He’ll be making stops at UNC-Chapel Hill, at N.C. Central and at a dinner in Fayetteville
