The
Role of Entrepreneurship in Reducing Poverty
Why
do some people have so much, while so many more have so little?
That's a question many have been attempting to answer for
generations.
As a pragmatist, I've always believed that many of the world's
problems require a healthy dose of hope, fresh solutions to
challenging problems, and a concrete path toward a better
future. This is especially true when you consider one of the
most profound issues facing us today -- the effects of a growing
underclass in much of the world.
Poverty affects all of us. Name any global issue -- climate
change due to pollution,
deforestation, the drug trade, illegal immigration, terrorism,
AIDS -- all of them have roots in the growing economic challenges
of the developing world. The more disparity there is between
the well-off minority of the world and the needy majority,
the more we gamble with the future well-being of our society
at large.
I have traveled enough to know that even in a time of growing
prosperity for the developed world, much of the world is being
left behind. The gap between the "haves" and the
"have-nots" is widening. Experts estimate that 20%
of the world's population controls 80% of the world's wealth.
One in five people on the planet make do on less than a dollar
a day.
For years, I've tried to understand why this is so. I've read
books, attended lectures and traveled to poor countries. The
problem of global poverty is too complex for any simple interpretation.
Yet, I believe that teaching entrepreneurship and small business
marketing skills to people in the developing world can alleviate
many of the world's problems. This is because entrepreneurship
empowers people to help themselves, not just today, but for
a lifetime.
GIVE embraces a model of “social entrepreneurship”
that provides opportunities to support long-term, self-perpetuating
solutions to global poverty.
Our overarching mission is to produce job creators, rather
than job seekers, through entrepreneurial education and development
projects, forging complementary relationships between the
for-profit and nonprofit sectors, and linking proven models
and resources toward the alleviation of global poverty.
I believe that to tackle the issue of global poverty, an epic
outreach from those in the developed world to those less fortunate
is part of the answer. I'm not talking about a handout or
charity. Rather, I'm suggesting that one of the best ways
out of the growing problem of wealth disparity is is to teach
those with very little how to build their own income streams,
develop an entrepreneurial mindset, and essentially become
masters of their own destiny. |
