- The partnership was signed between Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics and Yunus Centre Dhaka and aims at launching an YSBC (Yunus Social Business Center) led by CATÓLICA-LISBON.
- The main objective of YSBC from CATÓLICA-LISBON is to work towards a more sustainable and inclusive development, through the implementation of the concept of Social Businesses that align economic viability with a focus on societal impact.
- Muhammad Yunus, economist and Nobel Peace Prize winner is internationally recognized for the development of the microcredit system and the promotion of the concept of social business at the service of disadvantaged populations and communities.
Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics signed a partnership with Yunus Centre Dhaka. This partnership provides for the establishment of the YSBC (Yunus Social Business Centre) of CATÓLICA-LISBON, whose main objective is to work on solving social and environmental problems through the implementation of the Social Business concept.
According to Filipe Santos, Dean of CATÓLICA-LISBON and responsible for the Chair in Social Entrepreneurship “this partnership with the Yunus Centre is aligned with the sense of purpose that we pursue in our institution, based on three essential ideas: knowledge; learning and impact. Business schools have the responsibility to promote knowledge that can materialize into positive instruments for the progress of society. The responsibility to educate ethical and responsible leaders, able to make the best use of the resources and talents they have available and the responsibility to focus our knowledge and human talent assets on the issues that most challenge companies and society».
For Filipe Santos, “this partnership represents another step in our commitment to be an engine in the pursuit of the United Nations' sustainable development goals and in the construction of a more impact-oriented economy, a path that we accelerated last year with the launch of the Centre for Responsible Business & Leadership”.
CATÓLICA-LISBON intends with this partnership with the Yunus Centre to develop knowledge, education and innovative projects in the area of social business and work for a fairer, more inclusive and impact-oriented system of capitalism. Achieving this objective involves training programs in Social Business and social innovation for young people in secondary education, university students, entrepreneurs and executives, an accelerator to support the development of new social businesses that help solve the challenges of European society and the development of partnerships for inter-sectoral impact that contribute to sustainable development.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and economist Muhammad Yunus is internationally recognized for his revolutionary microcredit system that helped millions of people escape poverty, and for promoting the concept of social business that promote economically viable solutions oriented towards social impact, serving the most disadvantaged populations and communities. Professor Yunus has been a member of the board of the United Nations Foundation and has received numerous international awards for his humanitarian efforts.
CATÓLICA-LISBON's Yunus Social Business Center, a pioneer in Portugal, will be launched publicly in the first semester of 2020.