Students organize dialogue on battling poverty through entrepreneurship

Published: 2009-01-23

On Feb. 20, students, the ambassador of Bangladesh, business executives, business scholars, state officials and poverty practitioners will gather at Gerlach Hall for the "Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship Summit." The day-long summit, inspired by Fisher students, will bring together poverty experts and individuals interested in this topic to create a dialogue and exchange successful strategies, ideas and practices. 

“There are many entities addressing poverty utilizing different approaches, as business students we wanted to bring many views together in one forum,” said Benjamin VanBuskirk, one of the student organizers for the event. “We hope this interaction will create discussions about how theory and practice are intersecting while offering participants opportunities to learn from each other.”

The format for the summit will be panel discussions—focused on four areas, research, government, practitioners and business.

A keynote presentation will be given the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Banladesh M. Humayun Kabir. Scholars presenting include Ted London, a leading expert on the role and impact of market-based strategies on poverty alleviation and Erik Simanis, senior research associate at the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management.  London is a senior research fellow at the William Davidson Institute (WDI) and on the faculty at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Nvalaye Kourumora, CEO of Afric Xpress, will discuss how his Ghana-based company is helping to accelerate the growth of mobile technology on the continent.

Current Fisher students and graduates will be participating. MLHR student Emily Douglas will discuss the charity she founded, Grandma’s Gifts, which provides assistance to low-income families in the Appalachian region. Also participating in the conference is Fisher graduate Jacqueline L. Davis, director of the International Development Collaborative, and VanBuskirk, who launched the Bolivia scarf project with the villagers they met after an Elective Treks trip last spring.

“While all speakers will address the topic of using entrepreneurship to alleviate poverty, each session will use a different lens,” said Sharon Alvarez, an associate professor of management strategy and one of the summit participants.

Registration is available online. Deadline to register for the event is Feb. 13.

The summit is sponsored by Fisher, CIBER, Net Impact, the Business Builder’s Club and the Center for Entrepreneurship.