Muhammad Yunus to be honoured with 2010 SolarWorld Einstein Award

Microfinance Monitor, August 30, 2010: Nobel Peace Prize laureate and microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus will be presented the 2010 SolarWorld Einstein Award on September 6 in Spain.

The Bangladeshi professor of economics, founder of the Grameen Bank and Nobel laureate will receive the award in recognition of his breakthrough concept of micro-loans for the poor, which have helped millions of people worldwide to escape poverty.

The micro-loans have, among other things, made possible installations of more than 400,000 small solar power systems, securing energy supplies for people in rural regions of Bangladesh who live far from the national utility grid.

“Professor Yunus stands for radically new thinking in economics and banking. He has recognized the potential of the poorest of this world who manage to make a decent living on the basis of a small starting credit, a lot of creativity and the sun as the source of energy. This is more than exemplary,” explains Dr. Ing. h. c. Frank Asbeck, chairman and CEO of SolarWorld AG.

On the basis of micro-loans granted by banks held by the Grameen family since 1983, Yunus developed the concept of “social business,” which has inspired similar activity worldwide. This type of business does not strive to maximize profits and generate dividends but to solve social and ecological problems. Social business companies make available technologies for clean drinking water, affordable medication or inexpensive, clean energy.

The nonprofit company Grameen Shakti (GS), since its founding in 1996, has provided energy to off-grid rural regions of Bangladesh. With help from micro-loans, program recipients can obtain small off-grid solar power plants. This clean energy enables regional residents to work after dark, learn more in school and operate electric machines, radios and mobile phones. At the same time, it reduces climate and health hazards from kerosene lamps, said a statement.

The SolarWorld Einstein Award 2010 will be presented in a ceremony on the occasion of the 25th European Photovoltaic Conference in Valencia, Spain.