RUC-Yunus Social Business and Microfinance Research Center Launch & RUC Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum Held

On 26 Feb 2017, RUC-Yunus Social Business and Microfinance Research Center Launch Ceremony and RUC Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum was held in Guoxue Hall. The following guests were invited to the forum: Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Price holder and the founder of microfinance; Liu Wei, the President of RUC; Pradeep Ray, the founder of Yunus Social Business Research Center and the director of WHO Collaborating Centre on e-Health from University of New South Wales; Mao Jiye, the Dean of RBS, and Bei Duoguang, the Dean of China Inclusive Finance Institute.

The forum was hosted by RBS and China Inclusive Finance Institute, co-hosted by Yunus Center and Hanhua Finance, and organized by RUC-Yunus Social Business and Microfinance Research Center, RUC Private Enterprise and Governance and Development Research Center, Grameen China, and the Youthink Center.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Dean Mao Jiye. Professor Yunus and President Liu Wei delivered respective speech afterwards.

Professor Muhammad Yunus

President Liu Wei

Pic 3 Dean Mao Jiye

In his opening speech, Professor Yunus believed that the launch of RUC-Yunus Center would help approach more young minds and scholars and empower the social development with the ideas and professions in varied fields. Social business offers effective solution to the contradictory path of private interest and social development. Benefit Maximization is not supposed to be the permanent goal of human beings. Entrepreneurship is the original driving force of human social development. The younger generation should be encouraged to create job rather than hunt job.

China has been following the reformative trend of “massive innovation and entrepreneurship” since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Liu Wei said, RUC would continuously take the responsibility of studying, participating and shaping the reform. He expected that RBS, RUC-Yunus Center could propel not only teaching practice but also the study of innovation and entrepreneurship of Chinese society.

After that, the launch ceremony of RUC-Yunus Social Business and Microfinance Research Center commenced officially. Prof. Yunus, Dean Mao, Dr. Bei and Prof. Li Yan jointly inaugurated the Center.

Inauguration of RUC-Yunus Social Business and Microfinance Research Center

In the subsequent round, Prof. Yunus, Duan Yingbi, the Chair of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, Tang Ning, the founder and CEO of CreditEase, Chen Long, CSO of Ant Financial, and Zhang Guoxiang, the Chair of Hanhua Finance and Chongqing Fumin Bank initiated a conversation in the themes of inclusive finance, social enterprises, poverty alleviation and social progress.

Conversation between Guests

At the end of the conversation, Dr. Bei Duoguang pointed out that China Inclusive Finance Institute was aimed to build a roundtable where the domestic researchers, entrepreneurs, supervisors and international experts could exchange and create ideas.

In the afternoon, The keynote speech, themed “Innovation Empowers Social Enterprises”, was delivered subsequently by Prof. Yunus; Bai Hong, the Secretary General of China Alliance of Social Value Investment; Liu Dongwen, the General Manager of CFPA Microfinance and deputy Secretary General of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation; Gao Zhan, the CEO of Grameen China, Yuan Ruijun, associate professor of School of Government, Peking University, and Director of Center for Civil Society Studies.

China Youth Social Entrepreneurial Program, a new session of the forum, is aimed to identify and support top entrepreneurs among Chinese youth. The committee eventually recommended three social entrepreneurial programs to make presentation at the forum. This session is hosted by Zhao Meng, the associate professor of General Management Department of RBS and Academic Director of RUC-Yunus Social Busines and Microfinance Research Center. The judging panel included Prof. Yunus, Prof. Pradeep Ray, Lamiya Morshed, the CEO of Yunus Center in Bangladesh, and Dr. Feng Yunxia, the associate professor of Organization and Human Resources Department of RBS.

Presentation of China Youth Social Entrepreneurial Programs

Dean Mao dedicated the closing speech at the end of the forum. “The forum was expected to build deep understanding of social business and social enterprises and encourage relevant practice,” said Dean Mao, “Prof. Yunus’ 40-year devotion is a powerful calling that countless young people in China would be inspired to devote themselves to social causes.”

In the evening, Prof Yunus gave a speech titled “Change the World by Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship”.

RUC would take advantage of its role in the future, connecting channels of recourse and building network for academy and enterprises.

Background information:

Muhammad Yunus 
Born on June 28th, 1940, Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist, and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. In 2006, Yunus and the Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts through microcredit to create economic and social development from below". Yunus has received over 60 national and international honors. He has won the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Other notable awards include the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1984, the World Food Prize, the International Simon Bolivar Prize (1996), the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord and the Sydney Peace Prize in 1998. Yunus was named by Fortune Magazine in March 2012 as one of 12 greatest entrepreneurs of the current era.