The International Organization of Employers has welcomed the recognition given to Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladesh economist and founder of Grameen Bank who pioneered micro-lending, by the Nobel Prize Committee.
Speaking from Geneva, IOE President Abraham Katz praised the work of the Grameen Bank in enabling innovators and entrepreneurs to have access to finance so as to turn business ideas into reality.
“It is this type of innovation and thinking that is needed, particularly in the developing world, to fill the gaps of commercial lending and thereby allow local people to develop their own means to work out of poverty, or to provide employment opportunities to others,” said Mr. Katz, a retired U.S. diplomat who served as USCIB’s president from 1984 to 1999.
IOE, part of USCIB’s global network, serves as the voice of employers worldwide, in particular at the International Labor Organization, promoting policies that support growth, employment and entrepreneurship.
Mr. Katz also congratulated the Nobel Prize Committee for recognizing the work that Mr. Yunus and the Grameen Bank have done, which he said would encourage others to explore micro-finance solutions both in South Asia and elsewhere.
“The IOE supports efforts by the International Labor Organization and lending institutions to build on this innovation, and through micro-finance encourage local actors to establish and expand business as a core means of working out of poverty” he said.
“The awarding of the prize to the business sector shows a healthy recognition of the contribution of business as a means to drive economic and social development.”
Staff contact: Ariel Meyerstein
