Bangladesh's banker to the poor wins Nobel Peace Prize

Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus, dubbed the "Banker to the Poor," and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping millions escape the poverty trap through a system of small-scale loans.

Borrowers use the micro-credit scheme to buy their own tools and equipment, or even mobile phones, thus cutting out the middlemen and transforming their lives through self-employment.

Ole Danbolt Mjoes, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said: "Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one such means.

"Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries."

Yunus began fighting poverty during a 1974 famine in Bangladesh with a loan of 27 dollars to save a group of villagers from the clutches of moneylenders.

The 66-year-old economics professor set up Grameen Bank two years later. It now has some 6.5 million borrowers, most of them women.

He is seen as one of the main developers of the micro-credit concept, which grants small sums to entrepreneurs who are too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans.

"I think this is a wonderful recognition for our efforts at Grameen Bank, and for all the women who work for us and who have made Grameen Bank a success," Yunus told reporters at his home in Dhaka.

Yunus and the Grameen Bank will share the 10-million-kronor (1.37-million-dollar, 1.07-million-euro) prize.

He said he would use the money to fund a project to produce low-cost, nutritious food for the poor and for an eye hospital, a drinking water project and a health care scheme.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan highlighted the winners' role in promoting the cause of women.

They were "long-standing allies of the United Nations in the cause of development and the empowerment of women", Annan said.

"Thanks to Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank, micro-finance has proved its value as a way for low-income families to break the vicious circle of poverty."

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