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you have spoken about the downside of a
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global globalized economy referring to
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it during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony
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in Oslo as quote a dangerous
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free-for-all Highway whose Lanes will be
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taken over by the giant trucks from
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powerful economies even as Bangladeshi
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Rick Shaws will be thrown off the
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highway end quote I'm assuming you're
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referring to the onedimensional profit
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motive of these giant trucks that focus
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more on money than on social good but
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how do you think how do you think a a a
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scenario could could realistically be
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averted a global scenario and in fact
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isn't that somewhat
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desirable uh I was giving an image that
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uh globalization is like a multi-lane
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Highway all the products are moving back
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and forth in many directions and
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everybody on the road carrying their
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merchandise and giving the idea that uh
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big countries big economies Rich
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economies will have more merchandise to
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carry big trucks to carry and a very
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powerful and take over the lanes the
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small countries don't have space for
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themselves because it's all taken over
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by the big trucks and the big companies
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uh so I said if it if it that image fits
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into the picture then we should have uh
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traffic rules so that uh little company
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and the Little Country little economy
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have their safe Lanes where they're slow
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moving they carry little things and very
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fragile but they move safely uh so that
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they the big trucks don't take over
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everything so and I'm saying that if we
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accept the traffic rules idea then we'll
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need traffic police so that these rules
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are obeyed and the idea is to have a
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traffic Authority so that somebody has
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to say this is the rules of
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globalization that if you are a big
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company you cannot come to a weak
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economy and say I take over the whole
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economy they can because they have the
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money power uh so that will be wrong
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globalization in globalization both
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sides must be the winner and the
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whatever gain in the trade takes place
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it should be shared equitably just
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because I have the power I take out out
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of 100 I take 99.9 and give you 0.1% and
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say this is globalization I don't think
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that will be tenable that will be
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sustainable so we have to agree how much
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you should get and how much I should get
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although I could have taken over
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everything but by agreed principles we
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don't do that we give you some and we
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keep some and what that participation
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would be how division would be that
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would be the traffic police or the
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traffic Authority will decide that this
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is how we should do that otherwise
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globalization will become I suggested
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that will be an economic imperialism
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that uh big economies taken over the
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small economies well one effect we see
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of globalization right now is what's
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happening happening in the world banking
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industry and why I find that very
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interesting is because if you were to
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look at grin's own borrowers they are
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not just the subprime what are
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considered subprime but even the sub
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subprime uh in spite of that Grine
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repayment rates are 99% or so and you uh
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have never required a bailout uh from
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that perspective I wonder how you see
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this global banking crisis and what
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advice would you give to the CEOs of
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Institutions like City Bank or Bank of
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America about what they could do to
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salvage their operations it's a it's a
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paradoxical situation right now because
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uh back uh 33 years back when I was
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trying to start this program in a tiny
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village with a few people and arguing
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with the bankers that this would be a
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good idea to give loans to the poor
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people their argument was that poor
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people are not credit worthy they will
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never pay back and so on so today 33
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years later you can ask the same
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question who is credit worthy the answer
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obviously will be very different because
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it's the poor who turned out to be the
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better credit worthy than the other
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category of people because uh the
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programs microcredit programs all over
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the world still function very well still
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their repayment is very high
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uh whereas uh the big Banks and their
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big uh Landing operations are in
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situation of collapse it's falling down
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uh so uh with this experience uh kind of
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contradictory experience that we have uh
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now we have to uh we have no other way
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but to redesign the whole
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system recognizing the fact the strength
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in this non-collateralized loans for the
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poor people and the weakness in the cat
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has loan for the rich people so we have
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to find find a ground where we can have
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a an inclusive Financial system where
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nobody will be thrown out of the system
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uh not the poorest person not the
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homeless person or a beggar person
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nobody should be thrown out uh they can
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handle they have already shown examples
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shown and created a long-term credit I
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mean record that what they have done uh
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so this is one lesson from this uh to
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redesign the financial syst system uh
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the another point I would like to make
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that uh This Global crisis financial
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crisis uh is worst In Our Lifetime when
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whole world is going through it while we
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look at the crisis part of it we forget
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this is also the greatest
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opportunity when the system is not
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working that's the time you unpack it
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and redesign it so that not only it uh
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works it works better than ever before
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uh unless we do that we'll be committing
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a big mistake uh so I I emphasize on the
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opportunity part of it uh while the
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crisis will take its time it take its
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course to get get through it but we
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should be focusing attention and then
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start redesigning uh piece by piece
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where it needs to be fixed so that we
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don't have the same old system that we
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had before what qualities does one need
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to lead a micro Finance institution and
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how are these different from the
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qualities needed for another type of
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organization uh one idea I was just
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mentioning that we came from the
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Direction Where We wanted to bring
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Financial Services to the poor people to
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help them generate income for themselves
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and gradually move out of poverty by
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doing that build confidence build
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experience and step by step uh take care
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of themselves and see that they can move
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on uh and get out of poverty uh so we
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would like to keep microcredit in that
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fashion in that mood not profit
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maximization mode because then you are
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not looking at people's condition you're
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looking at your own condition uh so you
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want to take out as much Poss as
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possible to improve your uh Financial
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strength and so on so that is I think
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Number One requirement for microc credit
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that you have the right kind of attitude
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and right kind of mood when you get
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involved with it that here I have come
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to use my talent my creativity my
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management skills
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to help people get out of poverty uh
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without losing money losing money pushes
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you into another Direction it becomes a
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uh to it pushes in itself into the
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charitable uh kind of programs
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microcredit is not a charity program
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microc credit is a business program but
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business with a social purpose and uh in
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a c separate way have called it a social
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business and defined it in a very clear
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terms what a social business like so
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ideally I would like microc credit to be
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a social business where profit is zero
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for the person who has invested but the
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company can make profit profit stays
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with the company with a social objective
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in this case the social objective will
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be to help people get out of poverty but
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but in terms of individual leadership
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skills or or organizational skills how
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do you nurture these within individuals
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in say gine
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Bank uh within gramine Bank uh we just
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recruit people and uh let them learn by
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doing as apprentices with other older
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persons in the branches so it's not a
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classroom training which makes all the
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difference classroom training is a very
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small part of our training we simply
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introduce what we do and then let them
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figure out what how it is done and so on
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when they join gramine bank for them
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it's just a job they're looking for job
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not many jobs are available they got the
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job they're very happy they got the job
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they think now on uh I get I work can I
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get my salary so the intention of
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helping poor and all those things was
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not part of that job but once you start
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working with the poor people and get to
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know the system get to know the
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objectives of the system and gradually
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you are taken by it and more and more
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you feel um inspired by it and all these
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ideas that yes my work helps people
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excites them uh it's a wonderful
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experience uh to be able to touch other
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people's life it's almost intoxicating
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experience once you have it uh you
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cannot get away from it you want to have
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it more because you see things are
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happening in people's life their
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children going to school the kid you saw
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a little kid running around in the
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village uh now you see he or she is in
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school and doing very well and talking
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about what she wants to be what he wants
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to be and you remember your own
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childhood that how you went through and
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how difficult it was for you now these
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kids
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lucky kids uh they could have been they
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they are in a school and some of their
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older students are now going to higher
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education and gramine Bank gives them
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Education Loans and you say nobody gave
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me an education loan and my education
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finished After High School I couldn't
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proceed any further only job I could get
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is this one but I'm happy through my job
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I'm helping other kids to go to higher
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education becoming doctors engineers and
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University professors and so on so forth
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and that excites him that yes uh my
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service is useful
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