Banker to the Poor
Micro-Lending and the Battle against World Poverty
by Muhammad Yunus · first published 1998
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Firsthand account of how Grameen Bank's microlending works and the poverty it targets; useful for anyone curious about lending to the poor or about development in Bangladesh.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The founder of the Grameen Bank relates how he developed the system of micro-credit to help eradicate poverty in countries such as Bangladesh by providing financial education and small loans to rural families.
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There is a good book on this topic by Muhammad Yunnus - Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty, https://www.amazon.com/Banker-Poor-Micro-Lending-Against-Pov.... Overall, it is difficult to be even stay in business let alone profitable due to…
on “Why it costs so much to be poor in America” ↗…good way of putting your talents to use. You could do something in the developing world or something in the US, depending on your interests. If you have not already, I would recommend that you read "Banker to the Poor" by Muhammad Yunus. Best of luck to you.
on “Are you going to change the world? (Really?)” ↗…http://www.grameen-info.org/ 2. Kiva - http://kiva.org (started by PayPal alums) 3. MicroPlace - http://www.microplace.com/ (backed by PayPal) For further reading, see (Microfinance) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfinance and (Banker to the Poor) http://www.amazon.com/Banker-Poor-Micro-Lending-Against-Pove... Go do some good. :)
on “Ask HN: I sold my company last month for $5m. What do I do with the money?” ↗Banker to the poor - the story of Muhammad Yusuf 's grameen & micro-finance, over-coming odds, and a good read if you are curious about lending.
on “Ask HN: What is the most mind blowing book you've ever read?” ↗…approach. [1] You might also look at "Ben & Jerry's Double Dip", "Business As Unusual" by Anita Roddick, "Raising the Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business: The Story of Clif Bar Inc", and "Banker To The Poor" by Muhammad Yunus. But if you only choose one book, go with Derek's "Anything You Want" book. [1] http://amzn.to/1n5bylg
on “Ask HN: Is unethical or nonmoral only way to create and grow startup?” ↗…free for me to do anyway. I put some of my revenue/income towards charitable projects, but I keep much of that private / anonymous. My general philosophy on that comes from two of my favorite books, "Banker To The Poor" by Muhammad Yunus (of Grameen Bank) and "The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune" by Conor O'Clery.
on “Ask HN: How does your job benefit society?” ↗…a copy of Anita Roddick's "Business As Unusual", or "Ben & Jerry's Double Dip" to read about businesses that use capitalism to also have a social impact. On the not-for-profit side, Muhammad Yunus' "Banker To The Poor". Then start thinking about the kinds of companies or organizations you might like to work for.
on “Ask HN: What to do if you hate working for someone else and arent an entrepreneur?” ↗The ironic thing is that the latter taxi driver I mentioned was actually Bangladeshi-Singaporean (I believe ~9% of Singaporeans are of Indian descent). Reading the book Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus really opened my eyes to the instability and poverty in Bangladesh.
on “Singapore introduces caning for boys who bully others at school” ↗NON-FICTION 1) Thinking fast and slow (currently reading) 2) The Lean Startup (Read when I joined founders institute, was helpful in quite number ways. Doubled it with same course on udemy ) 3) Banker to the poor - Md. Yunus (Got a chance to interview Md.Yunus,) 4) Business Model Generation http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/book (Quite a read, for business model generation. One can explain whole…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012” ↗