Muhammad Yunus’ new form of capitalism

Jacqueline Lim

May 25, 2011

Professor Mohammad Yunus spoke yesterday morning at a NESTA event attended by a number of curious and concerned folk involved in London’s social entrepreneurship space.

The session started out with clarifications and update of the legal allegations that have been made by the Bangladeshi Government against Grameen Bank, as well as reasons behind Yunus’ stepping down as Executive Director of the Grameen Bank.

Yunus went on to speak more broadly about social business as an alternative to the current version of capitalism.  Capitalism today, he claims, is responsible for various market failures, including the lack of equal access to financial services for everyone including the poor.  In response to a question from the audience, Yunus quipped that this issue would be the first thing on his agenda if he were to take the role of new IMF chief.

Yunus views social business (which he defines as a “non-loss, non-dividend enterprise – dedicated entirely to achieving a social goal”) as one other key to addressing other inequalities caused by capitalism. Apart from the Grameen Bank, Yunus has since set up more than 50 social businesses. These include the well-known Grameen-Danone joint venture, as well as more recent initiatives with the French water company Veolia,  sports retailer Adidas and Japanese retail chain UNIQLO. Grameen has also set up its own social businesses, including the Grameen Eye Hospital.

This call for a new form of capitalism rings closely with Volans’ thinking and work as featured in the Phoenix Economy report and our upcoming report on The Intergenerationals.

A video of the conversation with Muhammad Yunus can be viewed on NESTA’s website.