“The new millennium began with a great global dream. World leaders gathered at the United Nations in 2000 and adopted, among others, a historic goal to reduce poverty by half by 2015. Never in human history had such a bold goal been adopted by the entire world in one voice, one that specified time and size.”

Bangladeshi economist and statesman

Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and statesman. He pioneered the modern concept of microcredit and microfinance, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. He is also the founder of Grameen Bank and the first Bangladeshi to receive the award. Yunus became widely known for promoting small loans as a tool for reducing poverty and expanding opportunity. His public life has since moved between economics and state service, and after the July Uprising he was appointed as Bangladesh’s fifth chief adviser, leading the interim government from 2024 to 2026.