On December 7^th Watami Group, Japan’s leading food and beverage brand, signed an agreement with the Yunus Centre to establish a social business in the restaurant sector in Bangladesh. Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, Chairman of Yunus Centre, and Mr. Miki Watanabe, CEO of Watami Group, signed the document during a ceremony. Some restaurants will be set up across the country under this joint venture, aimed to produce and sell healthy food, promoting local cuisine and training for food service professionals. The venture could generate more than 3,000 jobs and if the project in Bangladesh results successful it may be replicated in other markets where the Japanese company operates. Considering the initiative a social business, unprecedented in the restaurant sector, neither Watami Group nor Yunus Centre will receive any profit from the new joint venture.

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