MANILA: A Pakistani development worker Muhammad Amjad Saqib, who conceived a “first-of-its-kind” interest- and collateral-free microfinance program that helped millions of poor families, has won Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize on Tuesday.
Saqib, 64, was one of the five recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Award — named after a Filipino president killed in a plane crash — for distributing the equivalent of $900 million with an almost 100 percent loan repayment rate.
Nearly two decades after he launched Akhuwat, his organization has grown into the nation’s largest microfinance institution.
Saqib, who uses places of worship to hand out money, was cited for “his inspiring belief that human goodness and solidarity will find ways to eradicate poverty,” the award foundation said.
He was also praised by Prime Minister Imran Khan in a Twitter post that said the nation “was proud of his achievement.”
The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in 1957 to honor people and groups tackling development problems. It was held virtually this year after the event was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Other notable recipients of the award included a Bangladeshi scientist who helped develop a cheap oral vaccine against cholera and a Filipino activist who helped “revive a dying fishing industry” on the southern island of Mindanao.
