New Yunus Social Business Centre

Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Sunway Education Group (SEG) founder Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah endorsing the establishment of the new Yunus Social Business Centre (YSBC) at the Sunway City campus.
Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2006, was awarded for his work in founding microcredit institution Grameen Bank.
To date, the bank has disbursed collateral-free loans of US$24 billion (RM99 billion) to around nine million borrowers who depend on microcredit loans to start enterprises that lift people out of poverty.
He is also the founding chairman of Yunus Centre, which since its establishment in 2008, has been operating as a think tank discussing issues related to social business, poverty alleviation and sustainability.
“Cheah is one of the most inspiring entrepreneurs I have met. His passion and belief in education as an instrument to lift people from the clutches of poverty is evident in the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF). The foundation is indeed a unique set-up, which epitomises social business at its best,” said Yunus.
“I believe that we can create great impact through YSBC in SEG. In addition to having a good pool of business students in its business school, its non-profit accelerator and incubator Sunway iLabs, will undoubtedly help social businesses created here scale effectively,” he added.
In reply, Cheah stated that he is looking forward to the setting up of the YSBC in the SEG to further drive entrepreneurship develop-ment for sustainable socio-eco-nomic development, especially for the poor and less privileged.
The MoU is expected to see both institutions working together to explore areas in education, research, information gathering and strategising action plans.
As part of the mission to promote social business, the YSBC SEG will organise student learning trips that provide first-hand learning, teaching techniques and through programmes set up to assist the economic development of the poor in developing countries.
Students can also gain knowledge via social business action programmes, courses, research, publications, conduct social business design labs, conferences, exchange programmes, academic workshops, exposure visits, internships and scholarship programmes.
The YSBC, through strategic research and structured implementation of social business, will also help strengthen JCF’s efforts in community empowerment, well-being and wealth creation.