The Yunus Centre, situated in Dhaka

Dhaka

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 is the world’s first and foremost think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 for issues related to social business

Social business

Social business, as the term is commonly used, was first defined by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and is described in his books Creating a world without poverty—Social Business and the future of capitalism and Building Social Business—The new kind of capitalism that serves...

 and one of the leading institutions that are working in the field of poverty alleviation and sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

. It is 'aimed primarily at promoting and disseminating Professor Yunus’ philosophy, with a special focus on social business' and currently chaired by Prof. Muhammad Yunus

Muhammad Yunus

Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize...

. Its Executive Director is Ms. Lamiya Morshed.

History

After Prof. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank

Grameen Bank

The Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community development bank started in Bangladesh that makes small loans to the impoverished without requiring collateral...

 received the Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...

 in October 2006, a personal office for Prof. Yunus under the name of ‘Yunus Secretariat’ was formed. From the very beginning on, the Yunus Secretariat was mainly aiming at promoting Prof. Yunus’ philosophy of social business and served as a one-stop resource centre for anyone interested in social business.

In July 2008, it was renamed the Yunus Centre and continues to develop new social businesses, provide technical help to social business start-ups and liaise with anybody interested in the topic. They also publish a quarterly newsletter on new developments in the field of social business.

Activities

• Poverty-Free World Campaign

Yunus Centre is working to promote the United Nations Millenium Development Goals in Bangladesh and all around the world and is especially committed for making Bangladesh free of poverty by 2030.

• Research and Publications

Disseminating the ideas and philosophy of Prof. Yunus on social business and microfinance

Microfinance

Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....

.

• Social Business

Acting as the primary source of information on social businesses worldwide and providing consulting services to start-ups.

• Academic Programs

Developing curricula for classes on social business. Amongst other, current partnerships exist with HEC (Paris), the Asian Institute of Technology

Asian Institute of Technology

The Asian Institute of Technology is an international institution for higher education in engineering, advanced technologies, and management and planning...

 (Bangkok), Bocconi University

Bocconi University

Bocconi University is a private university located in central Milan, beside Parco Ravizza. Bocconi provides undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education, in addition to a range of double degree programs, in the fields of economics, management, finance and law. According to many university...

 (Milan) and McGill

McGill

McGill may refer to:People:* McGill , a common surname of Scottish and Irish origin and list of for individuals with the surname McGill* McGill family , a prominent early Americo-Liberian family...

(Montreal).

External links

• The Yunus Centre - About the Yunus Centre
• Grameen Creative Lab - About Grameen Creative Lab