Bangladesh’s microcredit pioneer and Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed Yunus is set to star in a special episode of hit American TV series The Simpsons, his office said on Monday.
Yunus's office said in a statement the episode in October would focus on Grameen's micro-credit work, which has helped lift millions of people out of poverty in Bangladesh and across the globe. "The recording of Professor Yunus's voice has already been done and the episode is ready to go on air," it said, adding that Yeardley Smith who voices Lisa's character in the serial was currently in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
Smith has visited and provided support to Grameen microcredit programmes in Haiti and other countries, the statement said.
The Simpsons, which currently holds the Guinness world record for "Most Guest Stars Featured in a TV Series", regularly features celebrities such as pop star Elton John and former Beatles Ringo Star. But the hit show has also featured politicians, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and intellectual figures such as the theoretical physicist Steven Hawking.
Yunus and his Grameen Bank were honoured with the Nobel Peace award in 2006 for their efforts to lift people out of extreme poverty by giving them small loans. Starting by lending just $27 to a handful of women in 1976, Grameen is now a billion-dollar micro-credit venture with 8.3 million borrowers alone in Bangladesh.
Yunus has been a vocal critic of the global banking system which he says deliberately excludes the poor. He said a more inclusive global banking system that lends money to the ultra-poor who lack collateral is possible.