The 'poverty causes war' analysis is bullshit, but it's nice they decided to honor one of the people who is implementing small-scale capitalism as the way to overcome poverty.
http://www.microcreditsummit.org/
I saw a program on PBS hi definition tv (I think) a while back. The documentary was fascinating. Almost all microcredit is being lent to mothers with children. Loans must be paid back, and the men in these third world countries have abysmal records of repaying the small loans.
The program showed the women sitting around attending "classes" to learn about money management, how to build their business (buy a cow, sell the milk), and how to budget to payback the loans. In order to get a loan, the woman has to be a part of a group because the women help one another cover for shortfalls if they can't pay their loan that month. All the women shown were strongly motivated to provide better lives for their children. Only one man was profiled - a man who repaired shoes.