Article
“Grameen Bank has an impact on the poor, GrameenPhone on the entire economy,” says Muhammad Yunus. The idea of GrameenPhone was conceived by 36-year-old Manhattan-based venture capitalist Iqbal Quadir in 1993. It was triggered when his computer network crashed, leaving him unproductive. Concluding that connectivity is productivity, the Wharton business graduate returned soon after to Bangladesh to launch a phone service. At that moment the country had one of the lowest teledensities in the world with one phone for every 500 people. This article looks at the Grameen story, and how connectivity – and mobile phones in particular – lead to economic empowerment.