http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/nobelpeace_6018.mp3
The winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Muhammed Yunus, will speak in Springfield March 2 as part of Missouri State University’s convocation series. KSMU’s Jennifer Moore has details.
Imagine needing just a $25 or $50 loan to get your new business up and running. Muhammed Yunus took a look around himself years ago in his poverty-stricken village in Bangladesh, and decided that tiny loans like these could help lift millions of people out of extreme poverty.
His bank, Grameen Bank, was the first to develop the idea of “micro-financing,” also known as micro-credit or microloans. Today, the bank has nearly 8 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women.
These loans have allowed Bangladeshi citizens to buy a sewing machine, or a goat, or other supplies that they needed to get their businesses rolling. As a result, they are able to purchase tin roofs instead of straw, send their children to school instead of the rice fields, and purchase mosquito nets to protect themselves against malaria.
Yunus will speak at the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts at 7 p.m. on March 2. The convocation lecture will be called “Social Business: Business to Make a Difference.” Dr. Mahua Barari Mitra, professor of economics and chair of MSU’s Public Affairs Conference, says Yunus will talk about how business is partly about responsibility.
“Business could be cause-driven in addition to being profit-driven. So businesses may exist to serve the greater good, and not just to make money. And it may be as important to owners of businesses or entrepreneurs to think about the impact of their businesses in the local community, on the lives of workers they employ, and on the environment overall,” Mitra said.
The event is free and open to the public, but you’ll have to get a ticket in advance. Tickets are available at three locations: JQH Arena, the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, and the Plaster Student Union on MSU campus. They’re on a first come, first-served basis.
Tickets may also be ordered by calling 836-7678, but in that case you’ll have to pay a $5 shipping fee.
For KSMU News, I'm Jennifer Moore.