Dr Yunus wants to take banking for the poor to Africa

Berlin Desk, Germany:

Bangladesh Nobel peace laureate Muhammed Yunus said on Tuesday, he was hoping to export micro credit system he pioneered in Asia, to more Africa countries to help overcome poverty.

“There is a lot of interest from African Leaders, to whom I have been talking. The question is how this can be translated into practice,” he told to a press conference at the closing of a World Bank meeting on Africa in Berlin.

   Yunus said, "all of developed countries need to strive help to Africa, in order to live up to the united National Millennium development Goals which include halving extreme poverty by 2015. “This is very important.

It is the first time,The UN has set such goals. The time has come to stick to them. Yunus nicknamed “Banker to the poor”, won the 2006 Nobel peace prize for helping millions to escape poverty through micro credit financing projects which enable people without collateral or steady income to get small loans.

A few African nations, including Rwanda and mail, already have micro-credit financing projects, based on the model he developed. Yunus held talks with African officials in Berlin just weeks ahead of the Group of Eight summit from June 6-8 in Heiligendamm, Germany. The host nation, which holds the G-8 presidency, has promised to put initiative to help Africa high on the summit agenda.

German development Minister Heidemaire Wieczorek-Zeul said Tuesday the summit world look at how to give ordinary Africans access to financial institutions.

This will be an important point at the summit.