Fred De Sam Lazaro:
The Grameen Bank grew quickly, 97 percent owned by millions of its female borrowers, success that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
Today, Grameen has a large footprint in Bangladeshi society, far beyond microlending with affiliated companies that sell cell phone service and food products. There’s even a nursing school. Its global reach includes Grameen America, which last year loaned $1 billion to low-income Americans.
All profits are plowed back into expanding the mission. Yunus has won friends in the highest places across the globe, except at home. In January, Yunus, who is 83, and three senior Grameen colleagues were sentenced to six months in prison for violating labor laws, charges he calls politically motivated.
He was released on bail, but this case is only the beginning of his legal troubles. He faces more than 100 other charges of labor law violations and graft.
What’s life like as you go into work these days?