Dr Yunus receives Hillary Clinton Award at Georgetown University

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus received the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, on Thursday, October 15, for his contributions to women's economic empowerment and global stability.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented the award to the Grameen Bank founder and former chief adviser of Bangladesh's interim government at a ceremony in the university's Gaston Hall.

Around 400 guests attended, including ambassadors from approximately 25 countries, entrepreneurs, business leaders, academics and researchers.

The audience rose to its feet when Clinton announced Yunus's name. He was the only recipient to receive prolonged applause from the entire hall, according to an account of the ceremony.

Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security organised the awards, which recognise leaders working to expand women's opportunities and strengthen global stability.

Three people received the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award this year. Alongside Yunus, the recipients were Reema Nanavaty, director of India's Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), and American fashion designer Tory Burch, founder of the Tory Burch Foundation.

Muna Sukhtian, board chair of Jordan's Microfund for Women, received the inaugural Georgetown Ambassadors Award.

Clinton praised Yunus's work in microfinance, recalling her personal experience of visiting Grameen Bank and observing its impact on women.

"I have personally seen the work of Grameen Bank. The way women have become self-reliant and secured their own safety and empowerment is extraordinary," Clinton said.

"Dr Yunus has expanded his work beyond the women of Bangladesh to the entire world."

The honour adds to Yunus's extensive list of international distinctions. He and Grameen Bank jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for their work in economic and social development.

Yunus has also received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, two of America's highest civilian honours.

A published biographical profile credits him with 136 awards from 33 countries, although it is unclear whether the figure includes his latest recognition.

Previous recipients of Georgetown's awards include Nobel laureate and journalist Maria Ressa, writer Anne Applebaum, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and former Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.

Women leaders of Bangladesh's 2024 student uprising were also recognised by Georgetown in 2025.

Fifty years of microcredit and women's empowerment

Accepting the award, Yunus said the recognition came as his work in microcredit reached its 50th anniversary.

"Thank you. I am delighted to be here again. Our work over the past 50 years is being recognised. This year marks our 50th anniversary," he said.

He said the ceremony would carry a message to Bangladesh and encourage people associated with the Grameen movement.

Reflecting on the past five decades, Yunus said the world had undergone substantial changes, both positive and negative. His work, however, had remained focused on poverty.

"Through microcredit, we have helped people living in extreme poverty stand on their own feet," he said.

He explained why Grameen Bank had concentrated on women from the beginning.

"We focused on women so they could use their abilities, take responsibility for their own lives and improve their families' circumstances," he said.

"In this way, change came to one family after another. Not just a few families, but millions of families."

Yunus said access to credit had changed women's position within their households and communities.

"Today, those families have changed considerably. They are now courageous, self-reliant and determined."

He said women who had once lacked confidence were increasingly able to speak for themselves and make decisions.

"You will no longer see shy, silent, impoverished women sitting quietly. Instead, you will see confident women who speak with conviction," he said.

"They raise their own problems and needs. Their voices matter because they run their own bank. They are the owners of Grameen Bank."

Yunus then turned to the next generation.

He said the children of Grameen borrowers were growing up with better opportunities but continued to follow conventional expectations of seeking salaried employment.

He argued that they should instead be encouraged to establish enterprises.

"We told them to repeat these words again and again: 'We are not job seekers. We are job creators.'"

He said creating employment required young people to develop business ideas and act on them.

"To create employment, you need to come up with an idea. What kind of business do you want to establish? Build your own business."

Yunus also discussed the expansion of social business, an approach he developed to address social problems through financially sustainable enterprises.

"Social business means establishing businesses to solve problems. Its purpose is not to make money for personal gain," he said.

"A company must generate profits and produce a surplus. That is necessary. But its primary objective must be to solve a particular problem."

Healthcare has become one of the principal areas of investment.

Yunus said social business enterprises had established health centres in different parts of Bangladesh, allowing rural communities to receive treatment at affordable prices.

"Social business funds are primarily being used to support the establishment of hospitals, health centres, eye hospitals and other medical institutions," he said.

"These institutions generate surpluses, which are then used to launch additional healthcare services."

He said such enterprises were becoming more visible across Bangladesh.

"If you visit Bangladesh, you will see signs for social businesses on large buildings. These institutions have been established to serve you and the people around you."

The healthcare initiatives are also expanding into medical education.

"Medical educational institutions are also being established. We hope these efforts will have a significant impact on healthcare in the country," Yunus said.

Grameen University planned by year-end

Yunus used the ceremony to outline plans for Grameen University, a proposed institution designed to combine academic education with entrepreneurship.

He said he hoped to launch it before the end of 2026.

The university would provide students with financing, practical support and academic opportunities to establish their own businesses while pursuing degrees.

Yunus criticised conventional education systems for preparing students primarily to seek employment.

"I often say that our education system has been designed incorrectly because it prepares young people to become job seekers," he said.

"That is not what education is supposed to do."

He argued that universities should cultivate creativity, initiative and the ability to create employment.

"The purpose of education is to develop people who are creative and enterprising. Universities and education systems should produce entrepreneurs."

Yunus said the idea emerged after years of encouraging young people to become business founders rather than depend entirely on employers.

"We have said this in many places. Eventually, we began asking ourselves: Why don't we establish our own university?"

He said Grameen University would be built around his vision of a world of "three zeros": zero net carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration and zero unemployment.

"That is the objective of Grameen University, and we will work to achieve it. Students here will have the opportunity to become entrepreneurs."

Yunus said the institution would challenge the idea that the primary purpose of university education was to obtain a certificate and use it to secure a job.

"We sometimes say, somewhat informally, that you should not seek a certificate or diploma, merely a piece of paper," he said.

"Because once you receive that piece of paper, you will want to use it to look for a job."

He said students would be encouraged to treat academic qualifications as part of a broader process of developing practical skills and establishing businesses.

"Grameen University will try to convince you not to chase that piece of paper alone. Become an entrepreneur."

"The university will ensure that you can start a business. Financing, support and whatever else you need will be provided," he said.

Students would still follow conventional academic disciplines, including science, engineering, the arts and business.

"But alongside your academic studies, your responsibility at the university will be to develop yourself as an entrepreneur."

He said the institution would place entrepreneurship at the centre of its educational approach without excluding traditional academic study.

"We are placing great importance on this approach," he said.

"We hope to launch Grameen University by the end of this year. It will mark a new beginning in our efforts in education."

The announcement extends Yunus's work from microcredit and social business into higher education.

His argument throughout the speech was that access to finance, enterprise ownership and education could reinforce one another.

Fifty years after beginning his experiments with microcredit, Yunus said the next stage of the Grameen movement would focus on helping young people create businesses of their own.

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