CAIRO: Five years ago, when dreams of change were beginning to stir the imagination of a young generation in Egypt, I wrote an article about the importance of individual achievement and voluntary contribution to society as a whole. While political theorists have long-debated the best relationship between civil society and the state, as Egyptians, the utter incompetence of the state had left us no choice but to depend on ourselves for seeking a way to move our country forward. I dreamed of a bright future, in which my country would earn its rightful place in the world. No doubt, I was motivated by distinguished Egyptians, such as Nobel laureates, Dr. Ahmed Zoweil and Naguib Mahfouz as well as countless others who have left their mark and made their country proud. My belief is that a person should always put the name and interest of their country, before their own name and interest; i.e., that in one's strive for success, one thinks of how this success will positively reflect their country's image. For the love of one's country is not merely empty words and catchy mottos—no, there must be action. How many of us think of succeeding so that the whole world recognizes our country through their success?—how many of us pass that idea on to our children?—how many of us are determined to make the whole world recognize our country's name through great achievements and success? But in that particular article, I was inspired by an economist from Bangladesh whose audacious project was to eradicate poverty. Dr. Muhammad Yunus had just won the Nobel Prize in 2006, as recognition of his success in alleviating poverty in his country. In 1974 hundreds of thousands died and millions became destitute as famine gripped his country, Bangladesh. The situation was grim, and Dr. Yunus watched as villagers became slaves to money lenders. But by offering to repay the debts of the most impoverished in return for the promise to repay what they could, the young economist had invented the economic miracle of microcredit. By 1983, Grameen Bank, which he later founded, had extended microloans to 6.6 million people across his country. With more than 40 percent of Egyptians living in poverty, I dreamed that one day this kind of change could happen in my country too. I finally met Dr. Yunus a few days before at YPO/WPO's 2012 Global Leadership Conference (GLC) in Singapore and I was immensely flattered by the fact that he also knew me. We started an enjoyable conversation beginning with a story about his mother, Safeyia Khaton, a woman whom “never allowed a poor beggar who knocked on her door to leave empty-handed”. She taught him that a man must have aspiration in life. I confessed that I had known very little about Bangladesh before Dr. Yunus won the Nobel Prize, and he assured me that my idea was quite right that a person should work hard to help his own country's people. He explained that one must continue working hard to achieve what he believes in, while not expecting that others will share in his vision. Dr. Yunus recounted how at the beginning of his endeavors, he did his best to convince the Central Bank in Bangladesh as well as commercial banks to establish a system to grant poor people loans without collateral. Despite being ridiculed, he was not dissuaded and went on to found his own bank. One of the pivotal achievements of Grameen Bank's policies was that it empowered women. By providing them with small loans, the bank helped them bring themselves and their families out of poverty. Another intriguing idea was that all borrowers automatically get a bank savings account. Many of these accounts ended up with balances much larger than the initial loans. Moreover, every year the bank's profits are returned to the borrowers, making them independent, and not reliant on charities. The Grameen Bank experience was not his only achievement, and Dr. Yunus also established a communication firm, which is currently considered the biggest in Bangladesh. His firm has enabled the poor to use cell phones for the first time in some of the countries most impoverished areas. Today, Dr. Yunus has embarked on yet another project: “a shoe for the poor” in co-operation with Adidas. The project is about to launch in several developing markets including Bangladesh. “When I face problems … I start business,” Dr. Muhammad Yunus said. Prior to the revolution last year, the Egyptian economy was growing at 5 percent, with $36bn in foreign exchange reserves. Now the growth rate is 1-1.5 percent, with reserves at less than $16.4bn. Unfortunately, poor governance and inconsistent economic policies can only mean that Egypt's poverty will only increase. The government is now aiming to sign a $3.2bn loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund. But as Dr. Yunus explains relying on foreign debt risks causing more damage to the economy as it allows the lenders to exert political pressure and impose their own policies. Meeting Dr. Muhammad Yunus was a true inspiration. And I hope to see a day when Egypt's poor are able to enjoy basic human rights that are taken for granted in more developed nations. In order for this to be achieved, we all have to work hard to rebuild our country and not wait around for bloated governments, plans or programs. “Build businesses on selflessness and making other people happy,” Dr. Muhammad Yunus said to me. BM ** The writer is co-founder of Egypt's April 6th Youth Movement ShortURL: http://goo.gl/8Xflp Tags: Activism, Micofinance, Rashed, Waleed, Yunus Mohammed Section: Egypt, Featured Articles, Human Rights, Latest News, Op-ed
