Setting up museums isn't exactly what banks think of as their core business. Still, it was hardly surprising to hear Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, founder of Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank, recently exhort Maharashtra, India's most industrialized state, to compete with his homeland to build a poverty museum to mark the end of poverty. "Let's see who eradicates poverty first -- Maharashtra or Bangladesh," he said.
Yunus was in Pune last month to accept the first-ever Sakaal Person of the Year award. Instituted by the western India based Sakaal group of newspapers to recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution to society, the award recognized Yunus for his own pioneering work in microfinance as well as for inspiring others to enter the field. Speaking at the event -- and also in an interview with India Knowledge@Wharton -- Yunus pointed out that while microfinance in India has lots of growth potential, regulatory changes are required and an independent regulator needs to be set up to monitor cases of abuse. Microfinance in India is now a $2 billion business, but it could potentially grow to a size ranging from $10 billion to $30 billion.
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