From banking to politics, or economics to education, a “contrarian spirit” is one of the characteristics that shone through for Anna Patton, as she reflects on her exclusive interview with Muhammad Yunus.
Yunus the entrepreneur turned the banking system in Bangladesh on its head and made microfinance a global phenomenon. But Yunus the teacher has still got work to do. At 84 – and facing a possible prison sentence – there's no time to waste.
After being convicted of violating labour laws, microfinance trailblazer Muhammad Yunus has been released on bail pending appeal, as his supporters call for fellow changemakers to stay vigilant, remain hopeful and continue the ‘good work’.
The very survival of some communities depends on their ability to adapt to the effects of climate change. Meanwhile, the cost of financing adaptation is soaring, while private sources fund just a tiny portion of this. Enter impact investing.
When organisations select their preferred impact metrics in isolation from others, it wastes time and makes it difficult to compare results with others. A promising solution: indices.
PLUS: Willicroft targets new markets with €2m raise; UK’s CDFI lending jumps by a third in one year; appetite for impact investing rises; Lendahand crowdfunding platform shifts gear; and much more.
BRAC International Microfinance – which provides financial services to ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’ customers, particularly women living in poverty – set to “grow significantly” and expand into three new countries over the next five years.
Small, low interest loans to the poorest people can transform lives and level up communities, but traditional microfinance has never taken off in the UK. What’s more, Brexit dealt it a near-fatal blow.
“Everything starts with imagination,” the Nobel prize laureate says, calling on social entrepreneurs to follow the lead of science fiction creators – and advising budding intrapreneurs to be “outrageously bold” in their ideas.
