Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, met with Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus on Thursday at the Yunus Centre to exchange views on development, entrepreneurship and innovative solutions to social challenges, a press release said.
The IsDB delegation also included Adeeb Yousuf Al Aama, CEO, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC); Anasse Aissami, Director General, Country Programs, IsDB; and Abdihamid Abu, General Manager, Trade Finance, ITFC.
The delegation discussed Professor Yunus’s philosophy and practical experience in development. They discussed his work with microcredit and Grameen Bank, the concept of social business, and his “Three Zeros” vision of zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emissions.
Dr. Al Jasser said IsDB was considering ways to introduce microfinance across its member countries, drawing on lessons from Bangladesh’s experience. Professor Yunus welcomed the idea and asked that a team be sent to study Grameen’s programmes closely, so that IsDB could identify which approaches might be of interest.
Professor Yunus also thanked Dr. Al Jasser for IsDB’s continued partnership with Bangladesh, pointing to the US$1 billion financing agreement signed earlier on the day for the modernisation and expansion of the Eastern Refinery. He said it reflected the depth of the relationship and IsDB’s role as one of Bangladesh’s most trusted development partners.
Dr. Al Jasser commended Professor Yunus’s work, noting that a growing number of young people today are not looking for jobs in the traditional sense, and no longer see themselves simply as employees.
Professor Yunus said this calls for translating their creativity into problem-solving and entrepreneurship, an idea at the heart of microcredit from its earliest days. He pointed to the Nabin Program as an initiative that began in Bangladesh before expanding elsewhere.
The conversation also covered Grameen University, which nurtures young people as job creators rather than job seekers. Professor Yunus briefed the Islamic Development Bank on his initiatives in creating a series of digital healthcare, eye care, nursing college, hospital chain etc as social business network in the rural areas.
Professor Yunus said today’s generation is the most powerful to date because they are digitally capable. He stressed that their real challenge is not jobs, but creativity to solve human problems.
He emphasised the importance of empowering young people to use their creativity and entrepreneurial abilities to solve social problems, create dignified opportunities and build a more just society.
The meeting reflected a shared interest between IsDB and Professor Yunus in building innovative, sustainable and people-centred approaches to poverty reduction, employment and social development.
The delegation also included Mohannad Zafer Almashharawi, Technical Support Officer, Middle Office, EOP; Ahmad Shawesh, Executive Assistant, Front Office Specialist, EOP; Abdikadir Abdi, Senior Editorial and Branding Specialist; Ali Khan, Manager, Regional Hub Dhaka; Nasser Yakubu, Operations Team Leader, Regional Hub Dhaka; Mahbub Rabbani, Country Economist, Regional Hub Dhaka; Abdul Aleem H Mohamed, Division Manager, ITFC; and Iftekhar Alam, Senior Manager, ITFC.
Also present were Md. Ashraful Hassan, Chairman of the Grameen Group; Lamiya Morshed, Executive Director of the Yunus Centre; and Tasmina Rahman, Managing Director of Grameen Trust.
