Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi "Banker to the poor" and economist has won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. With his Grameen Bank concept, he of course epitomizes "nano-economics" and servicing the "bottom of the pyramid"
Tom Peters pays tribute here.
"Conventional banks ask their clients to come to their office. It's a terrifying place for the poor and illiterate. ... The entire Grameen Bank system runs on the principle that people should not come to the bank, the bank should go to the people. ... If any staff member is seen in the office, it should be taken as a violation of the rules of the Grameen Bank"
That's great advice even for servicing the middle and top of the pyramid.
For some people the world is not flat, unfortunately it's trough-like. Kudos to Muhammad and the Nobel committee that this time gave the prize for something real and valuable.
Btw, http://Zopa.com comes to resolve a similar problem (although looking at it from another standpoint).
Posted by: Roman Rytov | October 14, 2006 at 10:36 PM