Professor Muhammad Yunus on edible yoghurt Pots

Dr Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. In 1983 he founded Grameen Bank a Microcredit organisation and community bank working towards ending world poverty through increasing access to finance for some of the worlds poorest people.

In 2006, Grameen developed a partnership with DANONE, the French multi-national, forming a 50/50 joint venture, Grameen Danone Foods. The mission of this pioneering social business is to bring health to the children of Bangladesh through the manufacture and distribution of a highly nutritious yoghurt called Shokti Doi. This pioneering venture has enabled each organisation to stick to its core competencies: DANONE has built the yoghurt plant and oversees product development and quality whist the yoghurt is sold door to door by the Grameen Ladies – who receive a commission for each pot sold – as well as through corner shops and supermarkets. The goal is to have the product available throughout the country with a roll out of factories, and sold through Grameen Bank’s grassroots infrastructure in thousands of villages across Bangladesh.

Watch this short interview with Dr Muhammad Yunus as he describes some of the innovations that the partnership has created.