<P> Muhammad Yunus ( Bengali : মুহাম্মদ ইউনূস ; born 28 June 1940 ) is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur , banker , economist , and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance . These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans . In 2006 , Yunus and the Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize `` for their efforts through microcredit to create economic and social development from below '' . The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that `` lasting peace can not be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty '' and that `` across cultures and civilizations , Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development '' . Yunus has received several other national and international honours . He received the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010 . </P>
the concept of micro financing was developed by who in 1976
Muhammad Yunus