.Yunus Speech to India Parliament Dec 2009: Putting Today’s Powerful Technology to Work
The world today is in possession of amazingly
powerful technology. That technology is growing very fast, becoming more powerful every day. Almost all of this
technology is owned and controlled by profit-making businesses. All they use this technology for is to make more money,
because that is the mandate given to them by their shareholders. Imagine what we can achieve if we use of this same
technology to solve the problems of the people!
Technology is a kind of vehicle. One can drive it to any
destination one wants. Since the present owners of technology want to travel to the peaks of profit-making, technology
takes them there. If somebody else decides to use the existing technology to end poverty, it will take the owner in
that direction. If another owner wants to use it to end diseases, technology will go there. The choice is ours. Present
theoretical framework does not give this choice. Inclusion of social business creates this choice.
One more point
to ponder – there will be no need to make an either/or choice. Using technology for one purpose doesn’t
make it less effective for serving a different purpose. Actually, it is the other way around. The more diverse use we
make of technology, the more powerful it gets. Using technology for solving social problems will not reduce its effectiveness
for money-making use, but rather enhance it.
The owners of social businesses can direct the power of technology
to solve our growing list of social and economic problems, and get quick results. In
Bangladesh, there are more than 42,000 students from gameen members familiies who are currently pursuing their education
in IT, medical schools, engineering schools, and universities. They are financed by education loans from Grameen Bank.
We encourage these young people to take a pledge that they will never enter job market to seek jobs from anybody. They'll
be job-givers, not job seekers. We explain to them that their mothers own a big bank, Grameen Bank. It has plenty
of money to finance any enterprise they wish to float. The wonderful promise of social business makes it all the more important
that we re-define and broaden our present economic framework. | .Grameen
Intel (dhaka-california-www) - GI case
Intel World Ahead - Australia schools; India computer training of kids to be teachers ; India telecentres ; Japan self- & e-learning in schools; S. Korea Vital Villages ; vietnam: racing the planet- keep them healthy | .Ali Baba (dhaka-china) | .Grameen Solutions (dhaka-worldwide)  |
Dr. Yunus, chairman and founder of Grameen
Solutions Limited (GSL), strongly believes that Information and Communication Technology can play an important role in the
reduction of poverty. He also believes that we have not tapped into the true capabilities of technology to transform the lives
of the poor.
GSL aims to harness the true potential of technology and address unique challenges in emerging countries.
In our solution to end poverty (STEP) initiative we welcome partnerships, ideas, and technology solutions that will contribute
to global poverty reduction.
|  | PROJECTS - Grameen Solutions Center
- Intel
World Ahead
- Mobile Banking
- Bank a Billion
|  |
| |  | PARTNERS |
|
|
bankabillion.org (others chinamobile-barry group) | .Grameen Otto (otto= 2nd largest online retaler after amazon)
(dhaka-berlin) | | . | . |
|