Caryn Davies
Olympic Champion | Founder, Podium Law | Leadership and Team Performance Keynote Speaker
Muhammad Yunus
2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate | Founder of Grameen Bank | Father of Microcredit & Social Business | Former Chief Adviser of Bangladesh
Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning social entrepreneur, founded Grameen Bank in 1983, the world's first microlending institution, which has provided nearly $30 billion in loans to millions of borrowers in over 82,000 communities. Yunus treats credit as a human right, offering small loans with low interest rates to help poor laborers, especially women, in Bangladesh expand their businesses and escape poverty. His work has been recognized with awards such as the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and the US Congressional Gold Medal.
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Muhammad Yunus biography
Muhammad Yunus is one of the most consequential economists of the modern era — the man who proved that the world’s poorest people are not a charity problem but a credit opportunity. Born in Chittagong, Bangladesh, he earned his PhD in Economics from Vanderbilt University on a Fulbright scholarship and returned home to teach — only to have his thinking upended by the devastating famine of 1974. Watching people starve in the shadow of elegant economic theory, Yunus concluded that the discipline had failed the people it claimed to serve, and set out to build something that would actually work.
Nobel Peace Prize speaker Muhammad Yunus began experimenting with small, collateral-free loans to rural women in the mid-1970s. What started as a personal project lending the equivalent of $27 to 42 families became, in 1983, the Grameen Bank — a formal institution built on the radical premise that the poor are creditworthy. Today Grameen Bank has disbursed over $30 billion in loans to millions of borrowers, more than 97% of them women, with repayment rates that consistently outperform conventional commercial banking. The model has been replicated across more than 100 countries, fundamentally changing how development economists, governments, and financial institutions think about poverty.
In 2006, Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to create economic and social development from below. He is one of only seven people in history to have received the Nobel Peace Prize, the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal — the triple distinction that places him among the most decorated public intellectuals of his generation. Fortune named him one of the twelve greatest entrepreneurs of our time.
From Microcredit to Social Business — and National Leadership
Yunus did not stop at banking. He went on to found more than 50 social business companies in Bangladesh — enterprises designed not to maximize shareholder returns but to solve specific human problems, from nutrition to healthcare to clean energy, while remaining financially self-sustaining. His books, including Banker to the Poor, Building Social Business, and A World of Three Zeros, have become foundational texts in the fields of development economics and impact entrepreneurship, translated into dozens of languages and taught in leading business schools worldwide.
In August 2024, following a student-led uprising that toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, Yunus answered the call of a nation in crisis and was sworn in as Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government. He served until February 2026, overseeing the country’s democratic transition, establishing major constitutional reform commissions, and guiding Bangladesh to its first free general election in over a decade — a chapter that added statesman to his already remarkable biography.
As a speaker, Muhammad Yunus brings to every stage a message that is simultaneously philosophical and practical: that poverty is not a fate but a design flaw in our economic systems, and that entrepreneurship — not aid — is the most powerful tool humanity has for eliminating it. His vision of a world of three zeros — zero net carbon emission, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment — provides senior audiences with a compelling framework for rethinking corporate purpose, ESG strategy, and the role of business in addressing the defining challenges of this era. He speaks from a life of evidence, not theory, and audiences leave not just inspired but genuinely rethinking what business is for.
Muhammad Yunus Speaking Videos
Muhammad Yunus: "A World of Three Zeros - The New Economics of Zero Poverty
Muhammad Yunus - A history of microfinance
Muhammad Yunus Keynote Topics
The world's deepest crises — inequality, unemployment, and climate breakdown — are not separate problems. They share a common root: an economic architecture designed to concentrate wealth rather than distribute opportunity. In this landmark keynote, Yunus presents his vision for a fundamentally redesigned capitalism built around three mutually reinforcing goals: zero net carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment. Drawing from decades of institution-building across sectors and continents, he offers a practical and inspiring framework for how governments, corporations, and entrepreneurs can participate in building this new economic order — and why doing so is not idealism, but enlightened self-interest.
The Social Business Revolution: How Companies Can Solve the World's Problems and Still Pay the Bills
What if solving poverty, disease, or environmental degradation could be the core business model rather than a side project? Yunus makes the case for social business — a new category of enterprise that is financially self-sustaining but oriented entirely around human impact rather than shareholder return. Drawing from partnerships with global corporations and the creation of more than 50 social businesses in Bangladesh, he explains how any organization can build or support a social business, what the metrics of success look like, and why this model represents the most credible path to aligning economic incentives with social good.
Grameen Bank was built on one radical assumption: that poor people can be trusted. From that premise, Yunus and his colleagues constructed a financial institution that has disbursed over $30 billion in loans with repayment rates that outperform conventional banks — and replicated the model across 100+ countries. In this session, Yunus unpacks the institutional design principles behind Grameen's success: solidarity-based accountability, proximity to the communities served, mission clarity, and the deliberate exclusion of collateral. The lessons apply far beyond banking — to any leader trying to build an institution that earns trust, sustains itself, and creates durable impact.
In August 2024, at 84 years old, Muhammad Yunus was called from self-imposed exile to lead Bangladesh's interim government following one of the country's most turbulent political upheavals in decades. He served until February 2026, overseeing constitutional reform, truth commissions, and the country's first free election in a generation — while navigating tensions with the military, pressure from political factions, and intense international scrutiny. In this rare and personal keynote, Yunus reflects on what it means to lead without a mandate, build trust in a fractured society, and remain anchored to principles when institutions are under stress. A session unlike any other in the leadership speaking landscape.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Muhammad Yunus
Why Muhammad Yunus?
Booking Muhammad Yunus for your event means bringing the stage one of the most transformative economic thinkers alive — a Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose ideas have moved more people out of poverty than virtually any other individual initiative in modern history. Unlike most speakers who talk about social impact, Yunus built it from scratch: Grameen Bank, the global microcredit movement, 50+ social businesses, and ultimately the leadership of a nation during one of its most critical democratic transitions. His message speaks directly to the questions that matter most to senior executives today — how to align profit with purpose, how to build companies that create value for society without sacrificing sustainability, and what it means to lead in an era of systemic inequality and climate urgency. Audiences leave his sessions with a fundamentally different way of thinking about capitalism and their own role in it. Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you tailor his session to your event's strategic priorities.
What is the Grameen Bank and why did it win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Grameen Bank — whose name means "village bank" in Bengali — is the financial institution Muhammad Yunus founded in Bangladesh in 1983 based on the principle that poor people, particularly women, are creditworthy despite having no collateral. Rather than requiring guarantees, Grameen lends to small solidarity groups of borrowers who hold each other mutually accountable. The model produced repayment rates above 98% and has been replicated in more than 100 countries. In 2006, the Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize jointly to Yunus and Grameen Bank, recognizing that lasting peace cannot be achieved without addressing poverty — and that their work had demonstrated a scalable, dignity-preserving path to doing so.
What is Muhammad Yunus's concept of social business?
Social business, as Yunus defines it, is a company designed to solve a specific human problem — hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation — in a financially self-sustaining way. Unlike charity, a social business recovers its investment and reinvests profits into expanding its impact rather than distributing dividends. Unlike a conventional corporation, its primary metric of success is social outcome, not return on equity. Yunus developed the concept after observing that corporate social responsibility, while well-intentioned, had become largely peripheral to real business decisions. Social business, by contrast, makes impact the business model itself. He has established dozens of social businesses in Bangladesh in partnership with global companies including BASF, Danone, and Veolia.
What topics does Nobel Peace Prize speaker Muhammad Yunus cover?
Muhammad Yunus delivers keynotes on microcredit and financial inclusion, social entrepreneurship and the future of capitalism, poverty eradication as an economic strategy, the concept of a "World of Three Zeros" (zero poverty, zero unemployment, zero net carbon), ESG and corporate purpose, and the lessons of building institutions that outlast their founders. He also speaks on leadership under pressure, drawing from his experience guiding Bangladesh through its democratic transition. His audiences typically include global business leaders, impact investors, development organizations, universities, and governments seeking to rethink economic policy. Aurum Speakers Bureau can help design a session format — keynote, fireside, workshop — that best fits your event.
How to book Muhammad Yunus as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Muhammad Yunus as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Muhammad Yunus's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Muhammad Yunus or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Muhammad Yunus speaking fee?
Muhammad Yunus speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Muhammad Yunus to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Muhammad Yunus.
How can I contact Muhammad Yunus?
We only work with Muhammad Yunus on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Muhammad Yunus and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Muhammad Yunus speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Muhammad Yunus for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Muhammad Yunus for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Muhammad Yunus is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Muhammad Yunus for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
