SEATTLE - He took a little idea and made a big difference in the village of his native Bangladesh and beyond. 

Dr. Muhammad Yunus is one of the pioneers of "microlending," street level banking aimed at the poorest customers in the world. 

Yunus is a soft-spoken banker and philanthropist who recently earned a standing ovation from University of Washington students.  A quarter of a century ago, he popularized the concept of microcredit, small loans with small weekly payments and no collateral or co-signer required.

"We meet seven and a half million customers at their doorstep and collect the tiny little money, and that sets the whole system running," said Yunus.

The system has worked in his native Bangladesh, where more than seven million Grameen Bank customers have a loan repayment rate near 98 percent. Dr. Yunus and his organization, The Grameen Bank (or "Village" Bank) were given the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. 

"Even the beggars can borrow from us," said Yunus.  "We have no problem, so why can't we create a banking system that is inclusive.  Nobody will be rejected by the bank.  So those are the issues we need to address very sharply." 

The model has been copied in dozens of countries.  Seattle-based Global Partnerships has used the concept to fund small businesses in Central America. Now Global Partnerships chairman Bill Clapp is seeing major investors get into the game, drawn by the prospect of making a profit and making a difference.   

"What we're seeing is money coming in $500 million investments that are being broken down into loans of $100 and $200 dollars on street corners all around the world," said Clapp.  "That's fascinating."  

"If you can make so many people so happy with such a small amount of money, why shouldn't you do more of it," asks Yunus. 

The most basic message he spreads is yes, there's hope out there.  It's working.  The poorest people in the world can often help themselves out of poverty with a few dollars and a little structure. 

"He's inspired us to think that the poor need to be looked at in an entirely different light," said Clapp.    

"So if you can do that country by country, this will be one of the happy periods of human history, that we at least addressed this issue rightly and achieved so much," said Clapp. 

Yunus and his Grameen Bank have now opened operations in this country, starting with a small microlending office in Queens, New York.  If it works, as he expects it to, other offices in other American cities will follow. 

About 97 percent of his borrowers in Bangladesh are women.