University News & Events

Anti poverty campaigner and Nobel Prize winning ‘banker to the poor’ Muhammad Yunus is working with the university to alleviate poverty and improve health in some of the world’s poorest communities.

In a meeting hosted by the university, Professor Yunus will today (5 July) sit face-to-face with key stakeholders, including John Swinney MSP, Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, to discuss the possible set-up of Britain's first Grameen Bank in Glasgow.

Grameen Glasgow would be the first UK bank to offer small low-cost loans to aspiring entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional credit, and so could offer a vital lifeline to poorer communities.

Professor Yunus explains: “By providing small loans on suitable terms, we have shown even the poorest of the poor can bring about their own social and economic advancement.

“Scotland is a proud and enterprising country – but there are pockets of shocking poverty. If, using microcredit, we can help the poorest people get off welfare and realise their potential as human beings then we must take the opportunity and we must take it now."

The bid to bring Grameen to Glasgow is the latest outcome from the Nobel Prize winner’s unique relationship with the university, who have launched a Yunus Centre in Social Business and Health to research and evaluate the social and health impacts of microfinance. Through the centre, health economist and Yunus Chair Professor Cam Donaldson will lead a long-term research programme to evaluate the impact of social business creation on the lives of disadvantaged communities.

Professor Pamela Gillies, University Principal and Vice-Chancellor said: “The leading edge research carried out at the Yunus Centre will keep Glasgow Caledonian University at the forefront of health research in the UK and maintain the city’s reputation as the home of groundbreaking economics.  Through this strategic partnership, Glasgow Caledonian will play a central role in advancing a new phase in economic and health development thinking.  

“Our university is committed to our social mission, ‘for the common weal’ and we have been inspired by the success of Professor Yunus in changing lives in the poorest communities. Through our education and research collaborations, we are determined to help Professor Yunus realise his goals of poverty alleviation and reduced social and health inequalities.”

In a related initiative, academics from Glasgow Caledonian University have built on experience in Kosovo and Palestine to establish the Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing in Bangladesh, a country where there are more doctors than trained nurses and high maternal and infant mortality rates.

“We are sharing experiences across communities, cultures and continents”, says Professor Gillies. “We have a great deal to learn from our friends and colleagues in Bangladesh and a great deal to share. It’s an exciting time.”