Put on social business glasses: Dr Yunus
Dhaka, June 28 (UNB) – Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus on Thursday stressed the importance of introducing ‘Social Business’ as a new space for cutting poverty and eliminating social discriminations from the world.
“Money is now the supreme authority… why should the money control our lives? Poverty is not created by the poor people, it’s created by the existing system and the institutions,” he said while addressing the opening session of the third annual Social Business Day at Gonoshasthaya Kendro at Saver in the morning.
Yunus Centre organised the Social Business Day with a mission to transform societies through social business.
Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Shiro Sadoshima, NASA astronaut Ron Garan, President of Felissimo Corporation, Japan, Kazuhiko Yazaki, managing director of Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation, France, Jean-Luc Perron, vice president of Kaiser Permanente, USA, Patricia M Lynch and chairman of MediaWorld Bangladesh Limited Rokia Rahman spoke at the opening session.
Criticising the capitalism, Dr Yunus said traditional businesses are based on the principle of profit maximisation, but mounting unemployment among many developed countries, financial crisis and Eurozone crisis have shown that a system based on moneymaking cannot provide any solution that is needed.
“About 50 percent of youths are unemployed in Spain,” he said.
About the role of the developed countries, Yunus said: “What happens to the USA decides what will happen to our country. This system is unacceptable. Now it is time to raise voice for a new system.”
“Still, we’ve been looking for solutions through the glasses of profit maximisation. We make ourselves believe that these glasses allow our natural eyes to see the reality with greater clarity. We didn’t think that perhaps those glasses are actually preventing us from seeing the opportunity to change by eliminating our social problems,” he said.
He said every person has unlimited power and if one uses his or her power, he or she can change all everything.
Dr Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, stressed the need for putting on a new pair of glasses – social business glasses. “Once we put on these social business glasses, we’ll find a whole new world of possibilities.”
Defining the social business term, he said social business is not about making money personally, but it is about dealing with social problem, be it the problem of unemployment, lack of healthcare and lack of access to education and sanitation.
“Social business is an idea, not making money. Every business can run parallel with social business…. No need to stop other businesses. So, it is time to redesign the whole thing,” Yunus said.
Social business is a non-dividend company dedicated to solving social problems. Adopting the new visionary concept, allow business to effectively and sustainably find solutions to social problems that are in desperate need of addressing.
At the opening session, winners of the social business plan competition were announced. The students from different universities of Bangladesh were given the task of a social business plan that will impact society and alleviate poverty.
NASA astronaut Ron Garan conducted the afternoon session where he shared his experience carrying Prof Yunus’ book ‘Creating the World Without Poverty’ to outer space.
During the session, Prof Yunus and delegates to the conference honoured conquerors of Mount Everest Nishat Majumder, MA Mohit and Wasfia Nasreen, and Shakib Al Hasan, the world’s leading all-rounder in cricket, for inspiring the people of Bangladesh.
About 925 delegates from Bangladesh, Albania, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, the USA, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Italy, Japan Malaysia, Turkey and the United Kingdom joined the event.
“Money is now the supreme authority… why should the money control our lives? Poverty is not created by the poor people, it’s created by the existing system and the institutions,” he said while addressing the opening session of the third annual Social Business Day at Gonoshasthaya Kendro at Saver in the morning.
Yunus Centre organised the Social Business Day with a mission to transform societies through social business.
Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Shiro Sadoshima, NASA astronaut Ron Garan, President of Felissimo Corporation, Japan, Kazuhiko Yazaki, managing director of Grameen Credit Agricole Microfinance Foundation, France, Jean-Luc Perron, vice president of Kaiser Permanente, USA, Patricia M Lynch and chairman of MediaWorld Bangladesh Limited Rokia Rahman spoke at the opening session.
Criticising the capitalism, Dr Yunus said traditional businesses are based on the principle of profit maximisation, but mounting unemployment among many developed countries, financial crisis and Eurozone crisis have shown that a system based on moneymaking cannot provide any solution that is needed.
“About 50 percent of youths are unemployed in Spain,” he said.
About the role of the developed countries, Yunus said: “What happens to the USA decides what will happen to our country. This system is unacceptable. Now it is time to raise voice for a new system.”
“Still, we’ve been looking for solutions through the glasses of profit maximisation. We make ourselves believe that these glasses allow our natural eyes to see the reality with greater clarity. We didn’t think that perhaps those glasses are actually preventing us from seeing the opportunity to change by eliminating our social problems,” he said.
He said every person has unlimited power and if one uses his or her power, he or she can change all everything.
Dr Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, stressed the need for putting on a new pair of glasses – social business glasses. “Once we put on these social business glasses, we’ll find a whole new world of possibilities.”
Defining the social business term, he said social business is not about making money personally, but it is about dealing with social problem, be it the problem of unemployment, lack of healthcare and lack of access to education and sanitation.
“Social business is an idea, not making money. Every business can run parallel with social business…. No need to stop other businesses. So, it is time to redesign the whole thing,” Yunus said.
Social business is a non-dividend company dedicated to solving social problems. Adopting the new visionary concept, allow business to effectively and sustainably find solutions to social problems that are in desperate need of addressing.
At the opening session, winners of the social business plan competition were announced. The students from different universities of Bangladesh were given the task of a social business plan that will impact society and alleviate poverty.
NASA astronaut Ron Garan conducted the afternoon session where he shared his experience carrying Prof Yunus’ book ‘Creating the World Without Poverty’ to outer space.
During the session, Prof Yunus and delegates to the conference honoured conquerors of Mount Everest Nishat Majumder, MA Mohit and Wasfia Nasreen, and Shakib Al Hasan, the world’s leading all-rounder in cricket, for inspiring the people of Bangladesh.
About 925 delegates from Bangladesh, Albania, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, the USA, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Italy, Japan Malaysia, Turkey and the United Kingdom joined the event.
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