Why this topic?

Over the last few decades, we have witnessed a surge of interest in market-based approaches to economic development and poverty alleviation, such as the tremendous popularity of microenterprise and microfinance strategies. At the same time, we have also seen an explosion of entirely new ways of doing business—from the embrace of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), to the growth of social entrepreneurship and social impact investing, to the rise of B Corps and third way business models promoting stakeholder value. Today, “business with a social purpose” has clearly evolved into more than a niche arena for do-gooders. Instead, investors and consumers alike expect and demand it.

This Christian Enterprise Solutions to Poverty Field Guide seeks to better understand the role faith plays in Christian organizations using market-based approaches to address poverty–and through this, a window into the state of the field overall.