As I was coming into the ideas which evolved into Sustainable Lives, I started playing around with the idea of a profit non-profit business model. I liked the idea of 0 profit Capitalism as an alternative to contemporary models of Capitalism.
I remember long conversations with Tom, my God Father who later became my uncle through marriage. Tom became an agricultural worker picking apples and trimming trees but was educated in business and so retained interest in business concepts.
Tom lent me this book Banker to the Poor which really helped solidify the idea of Sustainable Lives. Since, I have read each of Yunus’ books and intend to find ways to implement social business and solve poverty myself.
Yunus didn’t have some grand plan to do the work he has done. One day – it simply dawned on him that poor people had loans with interest they would never be able to repay that amounted to the bit of cash he had in his pocket. (These are my words, but essentially this was the start of micro finance. Which lead to social business: a business which is owned by, provides services to or employs the poor.)
His work with the poor and Gramen Bank received him and the bank the Nobel Peace Prize.
His subsequent work in three additional books outlines a path forward for those who wish to take up the cause of social business and solve problems of poverty through entrepreneurship by the poor and for the poor.
It lists countless numbers of individuals who have taken up social business by creating financial institutions, trust funds, entrepreneurial incubators – all for which believe that the poor are capable of creating the solutions to overcome their poverty.
If you want peace and prosperity for all, solve poverty. If you want to solve poverty design a world in which the poor can raise themselves up.
Yunus’ work is fundamental in the work to overcome poverty and will only aid as a catalyst toward a better future for all of humanity.