Telenor: - Deep admiration for Mohammad Yunus

Press release
Fornebu
2 minute read
"We are proud and extremely happy that our partner for more than 10 years, Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank have received this year's Nobel Peace Prize," says Telenor's President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas.


GrameenPhone, the leading mobile phone operator in Bangladesh, was founded in 1996 in close cooperation between Telenor and Muhammad Yunus. From the very start of operation, GrameenPhone in close collaboration with Grameen Bank have offered the unique VillagePhone concept. VillagePhone is based on the micro finance concept, offering low-cost loans to women, allowing them to buy a mobile phone and set up a mobile phone exchange service in the village.

Currently, there are more than 260.000 village phones in operation in Bangladesh, and GrameenPhone has a total of more than 9.5 million customers.

"We are proud of being a part of the development in Bangladesh and for working in close cooperation with Grameen Bank. We convey our sincere congratulations to Muhammad Yunus, for whom we have the deepest admiration. I am looking forward to expressing our greetings to him in person," says Jon Fredrik Baksaas, CEO of Telenor.

GrameenPhone is a jointly owned company, where Telenor holds 62 per cent of the shares.

Further information:

Dag Melgaard, Press Spokesman
Telenor ASA, tel.: +47 901 92000