Become job creators, not seekers: Muhammad Yunus

BENGALURU: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on Monday urged the youth to become job creators, instead of job seekers, by unleashing their creativity.
"You must challenge yourselves to achieve what others think unachievable," he told students of Seshadripuram First Grade College, Yelahanka.
He said they were lucky to be in a place like Bengaluru, a technology hub. "Not every child is fortunate to be in a city which gives you limitless opportunities.You can create a world of your own. There's no need to depend on others."
Later, at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts in micro-financing aimed at pulling people out of poverty, said he had no idea that he would do what he eventually did.
"I was thrilled with what I was doing in the US, teaching economics. In 1974, my village in Bangladesh was hit by famine. I returned home and began teaching there. I realised suddenly that economics was a useless subject as it contained nothing to prevent people from dying. I felt I was useless too," he said. He told himself he must help at least one person a day. "I began going into the village next to our campus and did little things. I saw how cruel people could be, victimising other people. All these observations pushed me in the direction that I eventually went and started Grameen Bank," he said.
At the Seshadripuram College, he also said: "I never researched before embarking on microfinance. There was no concept paper. People dying of hunger made me redefine economics I'd learnt. I saw loan sharks in villages. Suddenly an idea came to my mind -- Why don't I lend money? I took money from my pocket and started lending it."
That's how micro-financing took shape and Grameen Bank became a full-fledged bank in 1983.
Upending conventional wisdom, he chose to lend to women. "The conventional banks were lending money only to rich men. I reversed that and lent to poor women. Now, 97 per cent of our borrowers are women. They sit at our board meetings and decide on policies," Yunus said.
Explaining how Grameen Bank helped raise literacy rate in Bangladesh and self-employment, Yunus said his bank created the Social Business Fund to encourage entrepreneurs, thanks to which thousands of youths became self-employed.