Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus on Sunday met a high-level delegation of Italian civic and political leaders to launch an ambitious new initiative bringing his social business model to three cities in Southern Italy.

The delegation included Rachele Furfaro, President of the FOQUS Foundation in Naples; Renato Quaglia, Director of the FOQUS Foundation; Enzo Cursio and Valerio Giambersio, co-Founder and Executive Director respectively of the City of Peace for Children Basilicata Foundation; and the Honorable Gianfranco Miccichè, Member of the Sicilian Parliament and former Minister in the Berlusconi government.

The initiative will apply Professor Yunus's social business principles to drive urban regeneration and sustainable local development in Naples, Potenza, and Palermo, according to a Yunus Center press release.

It targets marginalised neighborhoods directly, creating concrete pathways out of social and economic exclusion for residents who have long been left behind.

"This Mediterranean-born initiative represents a new paradigm for addressing urban challenges through social innovation," said Professor Yunus at the meeting.

The project is designed from the outset as a replicable model — one that other cities and regions can adapt and build upon.

Implementation begins in September 2026, led by the Genera Consortium, which brings together the FOQUS Foundation, the City of Peace for Children Basilicata Foundation, Energaia SRL, and the Social Cooperative 'Il Salone dei Rifiutati.' Work will start in Potenza before expanding to Naples' historic Quartieri Spagnoli and Palermo's Ballarò district.