Muhammad Yunus and Hushmand Sabet
Left: Muhammad Yunus, 2nd from left: Hushmand Sabet
Two further Planetary Consciousness Prizes in the year 1997 were awarded in the form of Business Innovation Prizes. They honoured Economics Professor Mohammed Yunus of Bangladesh (left) and Stuttgart entrepreneur Hushmand Sabet (2nd from the left). Professor Yunus is founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that has helped 2.1 million persons, above all women, with average micro credits of about US $120, without requiring the usual financial guarantees. He counts already as one of the great social reformers of this century. Sabet, originally from Iran, was honoured for introducing a voluntary social donation for third world development by the European importers of hand-woven carpets.