Rhonda Abrams The Passionate Entrepreneur

Yunus' story is inspiring, demonstrating the incredible impact that one person can have on the world.

Yunus was an economist, overwhelmed by the famine and poverty in his native Bangladesh. In the 1970s, with $300 of his own money, he began lending tiny amounts of money -- sometimes as little as $1 -- to assist women to pull their families out of poverty, primarily through starting small businesses.

In doing so, Yunus launched a worldwide microcredit movement -- giving tiny loans to low-income people. Grameen Bank's loans average around $200.

More than a billion people in the world live on a dollar a day or less; half the world's population lives on less than two dollars a day. Even in the United States, I meet and get letters from people who would start their own businesses -- and consequently change their lives -- if they only had a few hundred dollars and a bit of help.

Today, Grameen Bank has nearly 7 million borrowers -- 97 percent of whom are women. The bank has lent over $6 billion, and over 80 percent of poor families in Bangladesh have been reached with microcredit. Yunus hopes that by 2010, 100 percent will be reached.

Remarkably, Grameen Bank has a repayment rate of 99 percent. Last year, the bank had a profit of $20 million and a staff of 20,000. The Grameen Trust has more than 100 partner microfinance institutions around the world.

Most important, according to their records, 58 percent of the women who have borrowed from Grameen Bank have risen above the poverty line. Many borrowers' children have become doctors, engineers, and other professionals. These women pulled themselves and their families out of poverty through their own hard work, ingenuity, and just a little bit of financial help.

Tomorrow, I'll look at microcredit efforts closer to home.