Yunus hopes Nobel will unite Bangladesh: Video

 Bangladesh brimming with joy over Yunus' Nobel prize

 The news of economist Mohammad Yunus winning the Nobel Peace prize has brought cheer and joy in Bangladesh with President Iajuddin Ahmed leading the country in celebrating the achievements of the 'banker of the poor'.

"The image of Bangladesh will be brightened further across the world with this prestigious Nobel Peace Prize award to the distinguished personality," Ahmed said in a statement.

The President was joined by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and main opposition leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed, now in the US on a private visit, in congratulating the first Nobel Prize winner of the country.

Khaleda said Yunus' award was a source of "huge pride" to the 144 million people of the country. "The entire nation is proud of the first Nobel prize for any Bangladeshi citizen. The world's most prestigious award has enhanced the dignity and honour of the nation in the international areana," she said.

Major Bangladeshi publications also dedicated reams of newsprint to stories of 66-year-old Yunus' achievements and photographs as thousands besieged his home since the news broke yesterday.

Yunus makes nation proud screamed a headline in the leading Daily Star  newspaper while its sister publication the Bengali-language Prothom Alo wrote Bangladesh is smiling with Yunus pride.

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Fact file on Grameen Bank

 How did the Grameen Bank start?

 The Grameen Bank began life in 1976 as a pilot project run by Muhammad Yunus when he was a professor of rural economics at Chittagong University in south-Eastern Bangladesh.

 The project set out to prove that lending to the poor was not an "impossible proposition" and to break the cycle of poverty created by middlemen and moneylenders.

 How does microcredit work?

 Borrowers take a small loan to make a purchase that allows them to become self- employed. Loans can be made for items such as a rickshaws, chickens, tools or a piece of machinery.

 Grameen Bank has also provided loans to 2,50,730 borrowers to buy mobile phones. This has given rise to the phenomenon of the "village phone lady" - women who make a living by selling calls to other villagers. They have brought mobile phone services to many rural villages for the first time.

 The idea is credited with helping impoverished farmers to maximise their earnings by checking when they will get the best price for produce at local markets.

 How did microcredit develop?

 After the original pilot project was carried out in villages close to Chittagong university between 1976 and 1979, it was extended to other districts.

 In 1983, the government passed legislation to turn Grameen, meaning village in Bengali, into an independent bank.