Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former chief adviser of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, said on Sunday that July Uprising leader Asif Mahmud played a key role in persuading him to assume leadership of the government following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

Speaking on the final day of the 16th Social Business Day, organised by the Yunus Centre and Grameen Group at the Samajik Convention Centre in Zirabo, Savar, Yunus recounted the events that led to his decision.

“This (Asif) is the guy who made me take the job,” Yunus said.

Muhammad Yunus assumed leadership of the government after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country on August 5, 2024, after millions took to the streets across the country to protest the killings of hundreds of demonstrators by law enforcement agencies and the then-ruling Awami League.

A report by the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) revealed that up to 1,400 people were killed during the July Uprising.

Yunus said Asif contacted him repeatedly while he was in France attending the Paris Olympics, although he had initially declined Asif’s request.

“I kept saying, ‘Find somebody else. I am not the right fit for this kind of thing. I do things I enjoy,’” Yunus said.

“This is getting too late. The whole country is impatient for a government. For three days there has been no government because you are not agreeing,” Asif told him, Yunus said.

Yunus said he then agreed to take the responsibility, and Asif immediately told him, “Catch the flight as soon as possible. Catch the first flight.”

During the same event, Yunus also praised another July Uprising leader, Nahid Islam, describing him as “history, not just a person.”

He credited Nahid with leading a student movement that ultimately brought down the government despite attempts by security forces to suppress the protests.

“They tried everything. They killed people, killed their colleagues, students. 1,400 of them. In three weeks. On the street. They were there. He was in the front,” Yunus said.

The event brought together entrepreneurs, global leaders, academics, policymakers, innovators and youth from around the world.

This year’s theme was “Social Business: The Language of Peace in a Fractured World.”

The two-day conference featured five plenary sessions and seven breakout sessions, including keynote addresses, innovation showcases, country forums and networking opportunities focused on critical global challenges such as poverty, healthcare, financial inclusion, climate action, education, food security and youth empowerment.