Asia | Banyan

The trials of Muhammad Yunus

Bangladesh is lurching towards repressive one-party rule

Small men figure fighting against a giant gavel.
Image: Lan Truong

To foreign donors, development wonks and some of the world’s poorest people, Muhammad Yunus is a hero. The Bangladeshi economist, social entrepreneur and founder of Grameen Bank pioneered the use of microloans and other services for those too marginalised to access conventional banking systems. In 2006 Mr Yunus won the Nobel peace prize for his work in grassroots development—empowering the most impecunious. The model he helped pioneer did much to improve economic, social and health conditions in Bangladesh. It has since spread across continents.

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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “The trials of Muhammad Yunus”

From the August 26th 2023 edition

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