The organization and the larger movement it helped spawn have financed the entrepreneurial aspirations of many thousands of people. The great majority of those who have benefited from Grameen Bank loans have been women, particularly poor rural women. Microfinance has offered borrowers, in Dr. Yunus's words, "a fair chance to unleash their energy and creativity" (Yunus, 2006).
His innovative thinking and dedication to poverty relief through the extension of credit were honored in 2006 by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize. And the movement itself was recognized when the United Nations declared 2005 to be the International Year of Microcredit.