Nobel Prize Winner and ITU Partner for "Connect the World" Initiative

Nobel Prize Laureate and Managing Director of Grameen Bank, Professor Muhammad Yunus, announced during a special address to participants in the ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 Opening Ceremony today, that Grameen will team up the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and other partners, including Cisco Systems, QUALCOMM and a newly formed consortium, Enclusion, to launch a virtual, global "ICT Empowerment Network" as part of their collaboration through the Connect the World initiative.

"We need to press the international community into action, so I am grateful to ITU for helping push this cause," Yunus said, adding that "this is just the beginning of an exciting, new, open collaboration and I encourage others to join us in this global effort."

The newly launched ICT Empowerment Network represents the first concrete area of collaboration flowing from a broader agreement signed by Professor Yunus and ITU Secretary-General, Yoshio Utsumi earlier in the day. This agreement opens the door to broader cooperation between the two organizations, with the aim of combining Grameen's micro-credit expertise with ITU's experience in implementing ICT development programs and partnerships.

The ICT Empowerment Network seeks to implement the vision outlined by Professor Yunus when he received the ITU World Information Society Award on 17 May 2006. During his acceptance speech, Professor Yunus called on global ICT companies to take part in a global effort to combine the power of ICTs with micro-credit financing to help the poor to earn sustainable incomes. To help make this initiative a success, Grameen will reach out to more than 3,000 microfinance organizations and 100 million borrowers world wide, while ITU will lever the support and participation of its 191 member states and some 650 private sector members from around the world.

"This is a truly powerful partnership that will yield benefits for years to come", ITU Secretary-General, Yoshio Utsumi noted following the signing of the agreement. "From the moment we heard him speak last May, the entire ITU team was motivated to work with Grameen to help make Professor Yunus' vision of empowering the underprivileged with ICTs and micro-credit a reality," he added.

The ICT Empowerment Network will consist of numerous independent, self-financed groups of partners that collaborate either in physical centres or virtually. Each group will focus on at least one of three work streams: 1) ICT solutions, 2) sustainable business models, and 3) capacity-building.
Professor Yunus made his address during ITU Telecom World 2006, the leading global ICT event, in front of an audience of the industry leaders, international government officials and the world's media. Professor Yunus met with peers and associates at the event, which is taking place this week in Hong Kong.