Corporate Facts

Professor Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist, and civil society leader awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance.

Professor Yunus has been an advocate of an innovative approach to social business; a model that combines the best business idea and modern technology with a focus on social outcomes. The result has been sustainable enterprises that are solving social and economic issues in many parts of the developing and developed world.

Ms. Nazneen Sultana has been serving as the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Grameen Communications since its inception in 1997. At Grameen Communications, she led various projects for reaching ICT to the remote villages, development of world’s first & complete micro banking software that’s been being used by more than 135 MFIs including Grameen Bank. She was also actively involved in formation of some social business companies i.e. euglena (Formerly, GrameenYukiguniMaitake Ltd).

Having completed BS and MS in Applied Mathematics from University of Chittagong, Bangladesh, she started her career at Grameen Bank and established ICT wing of the Bank. Meanwhile, she achieved a diploma in Management Information Systems from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. Having experience in IT field for more than 30 years, she has been serving as Director of different IT companies including Accenture Bangladesh. Moreover, she serves as executive member of NGOs that deal with gender issues, affordable healthcare for poor, women empowerment and ICT for development.

Professor H. I. Latifee currently works as the Adviser to Grameen Shikkha. He served the University of Chittagong as a Professor of Economics before he joined Grameen Trust (GT) as its Managing Director in January 1994. He was the Chairman of the Department of Economics at the University of Chittagong from 1991-1994 and Proctor of the University from 1988-1991. Professor Latifee as the Managing Director of Grameen Trust (January 1994 to December, 2016) provided leadership in the establishment and implementation of more than 151 Grameen replication programs in 41 countries. He also guided the New Entrepreneur Program of Grameen Trust, which demonstrated a tremendous success for solving the problem of youth unemployment and promoting young entrepreneurs since its inception in 2013.

Professor Latifee is the winner of Business Week’s Stars of Asia Award, 2001. He has been a longtime associate of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, father of Microcredit, founder of Grameen Bank and the father of Social Business. Professor Latifee serves as Member of a number of Boards of different microfinance organizations and social business entities in Bangladesh and other countries including Grameen America Inc.

Born is 1945, Professor Muhammad Ibrahim had his education in Dhaka University, Bangladesh and a Ph.D. in Physics from Southampton University, UK (1972). He retired as Professor of Physics from Dhaka University, and is now teaching in a private university. He is a writer and popularize of science, started a popular science monthly which is in its sixth decade of publication under his editorship.

He founded in 1978 a unique NGO named Centre for Mass Education in Science (CMES) of which he is the Chairman now. He is still busy in authoring books, science writing, public lectures as he was in the previous decades along with TV anchoring in science. His research specialization includes solar energy, appropriate technology, and youth development.

M Shahjahan is the advisor to Chairperson Professor Muhammed Yunus as well as Managing Director of Grameen Telecom Trust. Earlier he was the Managing Director (CEO) of Grameen Bank. He acted as the Managing Director of Grameen Bank from 14 August 2011 to 30 October 2015. Now, he is on retirement. Earlier, he served as the Deputy Managing Director, the General Manager and Head of the Accounts, Finance, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division, the Chief of the Audit Department, and the Zonal Manager of Grameen Bank.

Mr. Shahjahan is a member of the Board of Directors of several companies that work in the fields of health, education, agriculture, welfare, renewable energy and telecommunications. He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree in Accounting from the University of Dhaka in 1976, as well as a Master’s degree in Accounting in 1977 and a Master’s degree in Finance in 1981. He was awarded ICAB Medal (Silver) for passing the ‘C.A. Intermediate’ examination at the earliest eligible chance in 1981.

Saleha Begum led Grameen Shakti Samajik Byabosa Ltd,a pioneer organization and a sister concern of Grameen that is actively involved in Social Business for Nobin Udyoktas ( New Entrepreneurs) who are the second generation borrowers of the Grameen Bank. She is currently serving as director for various Grameen ventures such as Grameen Agricultural Foundation, Grameen Fisheries and Livestock Foundation, Grameen Trust and Grameen Kalyan. Moreover, she is involved with many social activities. She is one of the earliest associates of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus since the inception of Grameen Bank in the village of Jobra. She is vastly experienced and has been working for 39 years.

Abdul Hai Khan, practitioner of microfinance and social business, joined Grameen Trust (GT) as the Managing Director on January 1, 2017. He started his career in Grameen Bank as the Branch Manager and got number of promotions i.e. Program Officer, Area Manager, Assistant General Manager and Deputy General Manager. He had the opportunity to perform his responsibility also as a Zonal Manager of Grameen Bank where he supervised all Branches and Area Offices and more than 1000 staff of that respective Zone of Grameen Bank.

Mr. Khan has a wide range of experiences on GT’s worldwide replication programs following Grameen Bank Approach (GBA). He was the CEO of Kosovo Grameen Missione Arcobaleno Microcredit Fund (KGMAMF) in Kosovo from 2003-2005 and General Manager of Family Bank in Bahrain from 2009-2011. He has conducted many international training programs on various issues on Microcredit and Social Business in different countries as well as monitoring and evaluation visits to the microcredit projects run, owned and/or managed by GT worldwide. He also conducted a ‘Fact Finding Mission’ in Nepal in 2013.

Mir Akhtar Hossain started his career in the Grameen Bank. He played a very significant role during his tenure. He joined in 1982 and worked with Noble Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus very closely for 24 years and completed his journey as a successful General Manager among the Grameen. He did his Honours and Masters in Management from University of Dhaka.

He attended various seminar, workshop and visited many countries, Germany, Ghana, Tanjania, Suadi Arabia, India, USA, UK, France and Norway along with Professor Muhammad Yunus.

Mr. Hossain organized and coordinated various important meetings, seminers, workshop such as WHO, UNDP, UNICEF, JAICA, ADB, NORAD, CIDA, DANIDA, IMF, ILO, DFID, GTZ, World Bank during his tenure in Grameen Bank.

He participated in Noble Peace Prize 2006 Award Ceremony and related various programs as one the core member of the Grameen Bank representative team which was held in OSLO, Norway. He also served as a coordinator of the GB representative team

In his long career, Mr. Hossain was involved many activities in Grameen Bank as well as for different international organizations/representatives with Professor Muhammad Yunus as coordinator on behalf of Grameen Bank. He was also director of many Grameen Organisations. Now he is the Director of Grameen Motsho Pashu Shampad foundation and a General Member of Grameen Trust.

Mahmud Hossain is the Advisor to the Chairperson of Grameen Telecom Trust. He has worked in the areas of technologies, business, policies, regulations, strategy, management etc for over 30 years in different national and multinational companies, including 11 years in C-level leadership positions at Grameenphone.

Mahmud Hossain obtained his B.Sc. in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from BUET., and MBA degree from IBA. He also holds a Master’s degree from Concordia University, Canada.

In his credibly long career, Mahmud Hossain has engaged & worked with various stakeholder groups. He has also been active in social & charitable activities through various organizations.

Mr. Qazi Nazrul Huque, currently working as Managing Director of Grameen Shikkha (Education), has been working in Grameen for more than three decades. He joined Grameen Bank in 1990 as a senior officer and worked as manager in several branch offices of the bank. He also worked at the Central Training Institute as well as the International Programme Department of the bank. He moved to Grameen Shikkha in 2001.

Mr. Huque studied Public Administration at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and Business Administration at Victoria University, Melbourne. He writes on social business and also lectures at different universities on social business as guest speaker.