Dr. Muhammad Yunus

Poverty in the world is an artificial creation; it does not belong to human civilization. We can change it."

-"Poor people are not asking for charity; charity is not a solution for poverty."

-"Only thing we need to do soon, redesign our institution and policies. People can change their own life provided they got the right kind of institutional support."

--Dr. Muhammad Yunus

“Hillary and I first met Muhammad Yunus when I was Governor, and he inspired us to create a micro-finance program in Arkansas based on his model. Muhammad proved that the poor are credit worthy and that a micro-finance effort can be self-sustainable, create growth and spread peace. I was especially pleased that he participated in this year’s Clinton Global Initiative. Because of his efforts, millions of people, most of them women, have had the chance to improve their lives and we are all better off as a result. I have thought for years that he deserved the Nobel Peace prize. The committee could not have selected anyone better.”

At Jan. 29, 2002 talk by former President Bill Clinton at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.

"I want to congratulate Dr. Muhammad Yunus on winning this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

About twenty years ago, Dr. Yunus traveled to Arkansas to help Bill and me set up microcredit programs in the United States. Since that time, in my travels in Bangladesh and around the world, I have had the opportunity to meet many of those who are participants in Grameen's programs and hear their stories of the ways in which these loans have transformed their lives. I continue to be inspired by the beneficial impact of these projects on low-income women and their families, and I, like others, have nominated Dr. Yunus for this prize multiple times.

With just a small amount of money, those trapped by poverty have a chance to invest in items, such as livestock or materials for handicrafts, which can lead to economic self-sufficiency.

Through microcredit programs, the world's poorest people are leading their families, their communities and their countries to a better future - a future that Dr. Yunus has been instrumental in creating.

I would like to thank him for all his work, and congratulate him once again." - Hillary Clinton

The Secretary-General is delighted that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 has been awarded to Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, pioneers of the microfinance movement and long-standing allies of the United Nations in the cause of development and the empowerment of women.

He notes that, thanks to Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank, microfinance has proved its value as a way for low-income families to break the vicious circle of poverty, for productive enterprises to grow, and for communities to prosper. They have provided a powerful weapon to help the world reach the Millennium Development Goals, by helping people change their lives for the better -- especially those who need it most.

- Kofi Annan

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and leading newspapers eulogized Bangladesh's Mohammed Yunus, who won Nobel peace prize for economic empowerment of the poor, as a "messiah" and said India can learn a lot from his microcredit policy. Dr Singh said "this due and just honour that has been conferred upon you is a recognition of the immense commitment to the cause of peace and development". Chidambaram said that Mr Yunus has demonstrated that "women are deserving and reliable borrowers". "There can be no guarantee of peace and prosperity that Mr Yunus brought to a large number of people," the Indian Finance Minister further stated in his congratulatory message The Prime Minister said that he ushered in a revolution by bringing the banking system to the doors of the poor and the underprivileged. "This has brought about peaceful social and economic transformation in the lives of million of the borrowers." In its front-page article the daily Economic Times posed a sole-searching query: If Bangladesh can do wonders in the micro-credit system, why can't India. In an interview with the paper, Mr Yunus said the microcredit sector in India is in its infancy. The much-needed policy support for microcredit must come in the form of availability of wholesale funds. He said that India has to create an independent regulatory body to monitor the microcredit sector. It may have to bring in legislation for the formation of microcredit banks. The Indian Express in its editorial described Grameen Bank as "bank on peace'. It said that Yunus pioneered a revolution in a 'small troubled country'. His model has a few problems, though. Yunus has brought banking to some of the poorest people. "This in itself is a cause enough for celebration." Grameen Bank has been able to provide a lifeline to millions, especially to women in rural Bangladesh. "Today the Grameen family has grown into something no less than a large corporate entity," the newspaper further stated. The daily Pioneer in its editorial said that Yunus deserved noble prize for his amazing success in empowering impoverished women in Bangladesh by providing them with credit facilities. "He offered small amounts to start small enterprises that help women and their families to break free of the vicious cycle of poverty." This shows how determination and conviction can work wonders, the paper further stated in singing the praise of the trailblazing economic innovation.

- Dr. Manmohan Singh