Between 1993 and 1997, Quadir founded Grameenphone in Bangladesh to provide universal access to telephone services and to increase self-employment opportunities for its rural population.

From 1993 on, Quadir changed his focus to his underlying aspiration, to create universal access to digital telephone service in Bangladesh and to increase self-employment opportunities for its rural poor.

To further his vision, he went on to organize a global consortium involving Telenor, Norway's leading telecommunications company; an affiliate of micro-credit pioneer Grameen Bank in Bangladesh (winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize); Marubeni Corp. in Japan; Asian Development Bank in the Philippines; Commonwealth Development Corp. in the United Kingdom; and International Finance Corp. and Gonofone in the United States.

He attracted these investors by complementing his vision of connecting all of Bangladesh with a practical distribution scheme whereby village entrepreneurs, backed by micro-loans, could retail telephone services to their surrounding communities.

In fact, Quadir coined the phrase "connectivity is productivity" to explain the unique impact of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), particularly mobile telephones, in improving economic efficiency.

Grameenphone has been recognized for its approach to improving economic opportunity and connectivity in Bangladesh, contributing to access to telecommunications in rural areas.

The center is based on the belief that economic development and good governance in low-income countries emerge from entrepreneurship and forward-looking innovations that empower ordinary citizens.

Quadir coined the phrase invisible leg to describe how technological innovations change economies in terms of the distribution of economic and political influence.

In 2006, he became the 12th recipient of the Science, Education and Economic Development (SEED) Award from the Rotary Club of Metropolitan Dhaka, for initiating universal telephone coverage to Bangladesh.