Microcredit pioneer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh has published a new book Creating a world without poverty which is reviewed in the Austin American Statesman.
In his book Yunus tells the story of the foundation of the Grameen Bank which pioneered microcredit among Bangladeshi women and which has been instrumental in reducing poverty in that country.
More recently, Yunus says, the microcredit industry has extended its focus to "social businesses" that endeavour to chart a middle path between profit making businesses and social welfare charities.
"Such businesses engage in commercial activities with the purpose of creating a social good. Unlike charities, however, they don't depend on contributions — they aim at self-sufficiency, and expand depending on how much they take in," says book reviewer Roger Graham.
Yunus distinguishes the social business approach from that of hybrid businesses that aim for both profit and charity because these "hybrids quickly become for-profit entities, disguising themselves behind a set of good intentions".
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