Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, whom the The Washington Post called “the founding father of microlending,” met with Professor of Economics Shawn Humphrey and past and present students to honor the UMW team for their work in microfinance. They are shown here at the international conference of RESULTS, an organization dedicated to ending poverty.
The UMW professor and his students have mobilized a microfinance movement through their Month of Microfinance initiative and established La Ceiba, a student-run microfinance institution, in Honduras.
Yunus, a native of Bangladesh, has been recognized for his work on microlending with more than 100 international awards, including the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2006, the Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized Yunus’ “efforts to create economic and social development from below.”