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Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser meets Prof. Muhammad Yunus
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is exploring operational frameworks to introduce microcredit programs across its member nations drawing from Bangladesh’s developmental model, IsDB Group Chairman Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser affirmed during a bilateral meeting with Nobel laureate and former Interim Government Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus. The high-level dialogue, convened at the Yunus Centre in Dhaka on Thursday, September 3, centered on inclusive grassroots development, youth entrepreneurship, and scalable innovations for tackling socioeconomic disparities.
The visiting delegation featured prominent institutional figures, including International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) CEO Adeeb Yusuf Al-Aama, IsDB Director General of Country Programmes Anassi Aissami, and ITFC General Manager of Trade Finance Abdihamid Abu.
Deliberations explored Professor Yunus’s foundational philosophies, focusing on the real-world operational impacts of the Grameen Bank, social business architecture, and his flagship "Three Zeros" doctrine—striving toward zero net carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration to eradicate poverty, and zero unemployment through entrepreneurship.
Dr. Al Jasser noted that the IsDB is actively mapping strategies to deploy microcredit initiatives across its member jurisdictions guided by Bangladesh's pioneer successes. Welcoming the move, Professor Yunus encouraged the multilateral lender to dispatch an observational study mission to examine Grameen's operational network firsthand to determine adaptable methodologies.
Expressing gratitude to Dr. Al Jasser for the IsDB's recent $1 billion financing deal toward the modernization and capacity expansion of Eastern Refinery Limited, Professor Yunus described the transaction as an undeniable testament to the deep-seated strategic partnership between Bangladesh and the bank as a trusted development ally.
Commending Professor Yunus’s global contributions, the IsDB Group Chairman observed that modern youth increasingly lean away from traditional nine-to-five jobs, displaying limited enthusiasm for serving merely as wage earners. He highlighted the urgent necessity of channeling youth creativity into problem-solving and self-driven enterprise—the very ethos anchoring microfinance from its genesis.
In response, Professor Yunus referenced the Grameen "Nobin Udyokta" (New Entrepreneurs) initiative, explaining that the program originated in Bangladesh before being adapted globally. The exchange also touched upon the prospective framework for a "Grameen University," envisioned as an academic ground designed to develop students into job creators rather than employment seekers. He detailed Grameen’s extensive social business ecosystem in rural areas, encompassing digital health units, specialized eye-care clinics, nursing colleges, and hospital chains.
Describing the current demographic cohort as historically unprecedented in capacity due to digital literacy, Professor Yunus stated that young people view deploying creative faculties to solve human problems as their true calling rather than competing merely for payroll positions. The discourse culminated in shared commitments between the IsDB and Professor Yunus to advance innovative, sustainable instruments for systemic poverty reduction and inclusive job creation.
The meeting was also attended by IsDB and ITFC officials including Mohammad Zafar Almashharawi, Ahmad Shawesh, Abdikadir Abdi, Regional Hub Manager Ali Khan, Regional Operations Team Leader Naser Yaqoobu, Country Economist Mahbub Rabbani, Abdul Aleem H. Mohammed, and Iftekhar Alam. Grameen leadership was represented by Grameen Group Chairman Md. Ashraful Hassan, Yunus Centre Executive Director Lamiya Morshed, and Grameen Trust Managing Director Tasmina Rahman.
