Bulletin Board

Professor Muhammad Yunus was in Tanzania in June, 2007, on a two-day visit, on an invitation from President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.

The main focus of President Kikwete's government is the reduction of poverty and he sought advice from Professor Yunus on the best way to implement microcredit in Tanzania. Already many microcredit programs for the poor exist in the country. Late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere had visited Grameen Bank in the eighties and much interest was generated in this strategy for poverty alleviation. Professor Yunus praised the Tanzanian government for its attempts to build up a strong microcredit sector in Tanzania, including the introduction of an appropriate legal framework for microfinance institutions. However, programs have not been able to scale up significantly. He suggested the setting up of a wholesale fund like the PKSF in Bangladesh, to facilitate refinancing of microcredit programs.

The one and a half hour meeting at the President's State House in Dar Es Salaam, was attended among others by the Finance Minister of Tanzania, Hon. Zakia Meghji, the Governor of the Central Bank, as well as the President's economic team.

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
12 June 2007

Professor Muhammad Yunus met HE Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the President of Indonesia on August 7, 2007, at the presidential palace in Jakarta. An exclusive meeting with Professor Yunus was arranged in which all Indonesian cabinet ministers and top policy makers were present. President Yudhyono made a formal speech after which Professor Yunus spoke for one hour. This was followed by a question and answer session and free discussion with the cabinet ministers. Earlier of the day, the Central Bank of Indonesia also organised a conference of bankers where Professor Yunus explained the essential features of Grameencredit and how it can fight poverty.

The Governor of Hainan Province, China invited Professor Muhammad Yunus to become an advisor to the Hainan Provincial People's Government. His role as an advisor will be formally recognised in a ceremony to take place in Hainan, in December.

Earlier the Vice Governor Mr. Chen Cheng, led a 6 member high level delegation team to Dhaka to sign an MOU with Grameen Trust, to implement a "build, operate and transfer" (BOT) microcredit program for the poor, in Hainan. The MOU was signed by Professor Muhammad Yunus, Executive Trustee of Grameen Trust and Mr. Weixong of the Hainan Rural Credit Union, at the Chinese Embassy, on July 25, 2007.

The visit by the Vice Governor followed a meeting between Professor Yunus and Governor Luo Baoming in Hainan in April, when Professor Yunus attended the Boao Forum. During Professor Yunus' planned visit to Hainan in December, the Governor plans to inaugurate a microcredit institution which will be named after Professor Yunus, called Yunus Microcredit Forum.

In an initiative to serve the poor and the unbanked in the richest country in the world Grameen Trust launched a microfinance program in the United States in 2007. This initiative is called Grameen America. The project is based on the principles of "Social Business," as defined by Professor Muhammad Yunus. It opened its office in Jackson Heights in New York City (NYC). Initially it will focus on serving the poor and immigrant communities in NYC and then may have rural operations in Arkansas, California and other States.

Establishing Grameen America demonstrates a central goal of Grameen Trust to not only address the issue of poverty in third-world regions, but also in wealthy countries, where the poor are also denied access to credit. It is hoped that the method that has been developed by Grameen to empower poor people can also be used to tackle poverty in the US and demonstrate that the Grameen method can be successfully adapted for poverty alleviation anywhere in the world.

Report by Tamim Islam, Grameen Trust