“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

George Bernard Shaw

        Muhammad Yunus is a very  “unreasonable” man. He grew up in arguably the poorest nation on the face of the earth, East Pakistan. In February 1972, after a nine-month civil war, Yunus’ homeland became Bangladesh. Yunus received his PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University and after the war of liberation, he returned to Bangladesh to help build the new nation.

        Observing the suffering and extreme poverty of his people and noting the deadly migration of poor people to the cities of Bangladesh, Yunus developed an incredibly  “unreasonable” idea: the Grameen Bank. Grameen derives from the Bangla word gram, meaning village. Yunus created the specialized bank to meet the capital needs of impoverished, rural, would-be business people. Over the past twenty years, the bank has provided poor village people in Bangladesh in excess of $1.5 billion with half of that amount being distributed since 1994. The bank operates more than 1,050 branches serving over 2 million clients, 94 percent of whom are women.

        Yunus believes in  “bubble up” economics, as opposed to the more familiar (at least for Americans)  “trickle down.” By infusing the economy of Bangladesh with capital from the bottom up, the entire economic system receives stimulation. More importantly, micro-businesses acquire small loans needed to allow their efforts to thrive. For example, a typical rickshaw operator can expect to clear two cents per day after covering leasing expenses. With a small loan the same operator can purchase a rickshaw and begin making a livable wage as a transportation vendor.

        The loan qualifications at the Grameen Bank appear  “unreasonable” as well. Applicants must be landless with no material collateral. Social collateral is more important at Grameen. At the same time, the bank operates with high expectations: all loans must be repaid and repaid on time, the bank charges interest rates at four points above the commercial rate, it never forgives loans and each borrower must agree to save a portion of earnings each week. While the bank receives grants and cash infusions from foreign nations and investors, the two million borrowers control ninety percent of the bank’s shares. Each borrower must join a group of five other persons who have made loans with the bank. If anyone in the group of five defaults on a loan, the entire group loses the right to make future loans. Each group joins  “a center made” up of six groups. The social accountability has helped the bank’s default rate remain under 3%.

        The principles developed by Yunus and his amazing Grameen Bank provide Americans concerned about the future of poor, inner city residents plenty of food for thought. Even more important however, Yunus illustrates the fact that unreasonable ideas and people change the world.

        Have an unreasonable, crazy, against the grain, seemingly unworkable idea? Stay with it. You just might be on to something important. By all means, keep dreaming.