"At the same time a parallel system has been growing which is microcredit. No collateral, no lawyers. Even this huge big financial earthquake can't shake them."

When it comes to helping the poor, Yunus argues for entrepreneurism over charity or government assistance, believing it to be self-sustaining.

"If people lose jobs where do they go? Do they fall back on welfare? If lending money, $2,200 to a person, can create a job, self-employment, isn't it a better idea?"

Yunus believes technology has been crucial to the micro credit movement by effectively shrinking the globe.

He notes that the mobile phone is now everywhere, in even the world's poorest villages and envisions a time in the near future where the simple device is used to connect the poor to health care access, banking and other services.

"What other crazy things will happen, it's almost impossible to imagine right now in 15 years what this one little gadget can do."