The Business Solution to Poverty

Preface
Introduction--Eight Keys to Ending Poverty
PART ONE: ONLY BUSINESS CAN END POVERTY
Chapter 1-- The Poor Are Very Different From You and Me
Chapter 2--What Is Poverty?
Chapter 3--What Can Government and Philanthropy Do?
Chapter 4--Why Business Is Best Equipped to Fight Global Poverty
PART TWO: ZERO-BASED DESIGN AND THE BOTTOM BILLIONS
Chapter 5--What to Do Before You Launch Your Business
Chapter 6--The Ruthless Pursuit of Affordability
Chapter 7--Zero-Based Design in Practice: Low-Cost Drip Irrigation
Chapter 8--Design for The Market
Chapter 9--Zero-Based Design in Practice: A Cautionary Tale
Chapter 10--Design for Scale
Chapter 11--Zero-Based Design in Practice: Safe Drinking Water for Small Villages
Chapter 12--Design for Delivery the Last 500 Feet
Chapter 13--Building a Mission-Driven Global Business
PART THREE: OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND
Chapter 14--It's Your Turn Now
Takeaways
What We Say to Critics
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Authors
Discussion Guide

Paul Polak, widely considered the father of market-based solutions to poverty, is founder and CEO of Windhorse International, a for-profit social venture launching new businesses to serve the poor and the latest of three organizations he has founded. He is the winner of numerous awards, including being named one of The Atlantic s 27 Brave Thinkers in 2009.
Mal Warwick, former chairman of Social Venture Network and a co-founder of Business for Social Responsibility, is founder and chairman of Mal Warwick

This inspiring manifesto from Windhorse International CEO Polak (Out of Poverty) and entrepreneur Warwick (Fundraising When Money Is Tight) features a comprehensive roadmap for executives and entrepreneurs who wish to address the needs of the "bottom billions" who live on $2 a day or less: clean water, renewable energy, affordable housing, accessible health care and education, and jobs. This blueprint should be required reading, since, as Polak reminds readers, "We can't donate ourselves out of poverty." (Sept.) --Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review "One of the most hopeful propositions to come along in a long time. Paul Polak and Mal Warwick's approach is original, ambitious, and practical--and it just may be the key to reducing the number of people in poverty on a very large scale. They propose to harness the power of free enterprise to begin meeting the most basic needs of the poor . . . while making a profit. Though market-based approaches aren't new, Polak and Warwick lay out a practical and systematic way to work on a global scale, transforming the lives of hundreds of millions of poor people."--President Bill Clinton "In down-to-earth prose that's a pleasure to read, Polak and Warwick describe in detail, and with abundant examples, how to build a multinational business that will help end the tragedy of poverty--while opening up new markets and returning attractive profits. This book is must reading for senior management at every major corporation with global operations."--Aron Cramer, President and CEO, Business for Social Responsibility "As this extraordinary book makes so clear, business alone possesses the power and the resources to help billions of the world's poor rise out of poverty. I believe we have a responsibility to do so, too. In these few pages, Polak and Warwick provide us with a detailed blueprint for the construction of new business ventures that will directly address the scourge of poverty."--Anand Mahindra,