Interviews with purpose-driven leaders who are dedicated to helping others and making a positive impact in the world.
March 26, 2024
Zubaida Bai | Grameen Foundation
TELL US, WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO?
I am Zubaida Bai, the president and CEO of Grameen Foundation, founded by a Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus whose vision for the world is to put poverty in museums. We position ourselves to transform systems to invest in the power of women and enable them to walk out of poverty forever.
HOW DID YOU GET HERE?
I trained to be a mechanical engineer, receiving a master’s in engineering specializing in the development of modular products from Europe. Given how few women are in the sector, I believed I couldn’t make a mark without specialization. I went back to India and got a great corporate job, then decided to join a small nonprofit that designed products for agriculture. I ended up designing products in healthcare and agriculture with a gender lens, which wasn’t a consideration about two decades ago. From there I wanted to take the products to market and become an early-stage investor in high-impact technologies. That quest brought me to Colorado for a business degree. I started a company that built and sold products for women’s reproductive health. I led that company for 13 years as founder and CEO, only to realize a decade later that I was really positioned well to change the system, because that’s what I was doing to help the company become successful. That led me into the nonprofit sector, where I have been for the last four years. I am now with Grameen Foundation where we transform systems for women in the financial sector, in the agricultural sector, and also for young women of the future.
WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR? WHY IS THIS WORK IMPORTANT TO YOU?
In hindsight, I’ve come to realize that many women are invisible, yet they have a lot of power. I really stand for ways to enable women to show up to their full potential. No matter what I have done, be it from when I was 10 years old to today, I believe that I’ve always stood up and had a voice. That voice has only gotten louder over the years. So I believe I stand for ending the invisibility of women in this world and showcasing their full power, no matter where they are in the world and what situation they’re in.
WHAT IMPACT ARE YOU MAKING?
At Grameen Foundation, we are very clear that we are here to put poverty in museums, which basically means that we want to end poverty in our lifetimes. We believe it’s a social construct that each one of us is responsible for. We measure the impact we make by ensuring everything we do at the foundation has three outcomes. The first outcome is increased income, the second is increased agency of an individual, and the third is increased resilience. Income is straightforward. When we talk about increased agency, we explore whether the woman has the authority to decide what happens with the money that comes in or goes out of the home. Then, we determine if she has more than one source of income or credit and is able to save for any financial shock in the future. The way we measure our impact is by ensuring there is increased income, agency, and resilience for every individual that we work with.
WHAT (OR WHO) INSPIRES YOU TO DO THIS WORK?
What makes me wake up every day is the life of the woman that we change every single day. There is a lot of power and energy that comes with knowing that every single day – no matter what you do – is enabling somebody’s life to be a little bit better than it was yesterday.
WHAT’S YOUR VISION, YOUR BIG DREAM FOR THE IMPACT YOU WANT TO MAKE?
I believe that we want to create a strong model. Grameen, as an organization, is going to be able to change the world. We are able to create models that can be replicated by others and enable women to walk out of poverty, to give them power and enable them to show up with full power where they can. That’s the change we want to see. Of course, ending poverty and hunger in any way is a core part of what we do.
WHAT CHALLENGES ARE YOU FACING?
I think a lot of problems that women face are global. There are different levels. There is an invisibility of those challenges because of a lack of context. So a lot of what we do as an organization is show up telling those stories, ensuring that people understand the narrative, and what’s happening in the last mile of poverty. We also want to elevate the voices of women, the leaders that we work with, our community members, or those who are last-mile beneficiaries.
WHAT’S ONE THING YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CAUSE AND/OR THE WORK YOU’RE DOING?
We all have to invest in the power of women in any way that we can. Anyone who wants to find a way to do it, talk to us and learn how to engage with us.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE OR WORDS OF INSPIRATION TO SHARE?
I’ve always been inspired by The Alchemist quote that says, “If your heart truly desires to do something, the universe will conspire to give it to you.”
HOW CAN OTHERS SUPPORT YOU OR YOUR CAUSE?
Visit our website, GrameenFoundation.org, to learn about our work. You can either contribute to it or help share our mission and vision with your networks.
At Orapin, we believe those who are working for the greater good should be known, supported, and celebrated. We help purpose-driven organizations generate consistent media coverage and thought leadership opportunities to increase awareness, influence, and impact. If would like to be featured in INSPIRED IMPACT™, reach out to hello@orapin.co.