Meeting of minds

It all started in November 2005 with a meeting between Danone CEO Franck Riboud and Muhammad Yunus, President of microlender Grameen Bank and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Realizing that they shared the same vision of development for poor countries, the two men moved quickly to found a business that would leverage their complementary skills. Grameen Danone Foods was built on an innovative idea: set up a small yogurt plant in Bogra, Bangladesh, to promote local development and bring health to the country’s poorest people. Today, the micro-plant they envisioned is in full operation and more plants will be built on the same model throughout Bangladesh.

“Grameen Danone Foods is a unique opportunity to create a business totally dedicated to social objectives -- a company whose ambition is not to maximize profits, but to serve the interests of people without incurring losses. It is a small project to begin with, but contains the seed of a new breed of business which can change the economic world fundamentally.” Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Group President

“I'm utterly convinced that our future hinges on our ability to explore and invent new business models and new types of business corporations. For Danone, a partnership with a company as iconic and visionary as the Grameen Bank is a huge step in that direction and in better achieving our mission: bringing health through food to as many people as possible.” Franck Riboud, Danone CEO