Contributed case studies on support to small business for poverty alleviation in Nepal by government of Nepal's MEDEP, program supported by UNDP, Nepal.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Poverty Reduction in Africa addresses the vital question of why the millions of dollars of governments’ and international development interventions in the SMEs sector are yet to deliver significant and sustainable employment and poverty reduction in Africa. The book also addresses the question of how the SMEs sector can help in the eradication of poverty in Africa. The book also tackles the question of what policy makers, SMEs operators, would-be entrepreneurs and trainers can do to contribute to poverty reduction through the SMEs sector. To address these three key questions, the book has adopted innovative concepts and ideas that will appeal to the sensibilities of African policy makers, trainers, business operators and would-be entrepreneurs. For example, the existing literature on system thinking and spirituality in business is used to offer a novel approach and departure from the perennial focus on “technical training” and hardnosed pursuit of “individualised” business and personal goals as a means of developing entrepreneurs and crafting SMEs policy. The key features of the book are: • a focus on changing the mind-set of SMEs operators, policy makers, trainers and would-be entrepreneurs; • contextualising the role of SMEs in poverty reduction by emphasizing the relevance of the African worldview, belief systems and spirituality during policy making, policy implementation and training of SMEs operators and would-be entrepreneurs; • theoretical explanations to why good intentions in policy formulation and implementation do not deliver expected outcomes in terms of the SMEs sector’s contribution to poverty reduction; • practical guidelines on how SMEs can develop a poverty-related mission statement, business strategy and business plan within the context of poverty reduction; • personal development guidelines for SMEs operators and prospective entrepreneurs on how to develop poverty-related personal mission statements and strategies; • the introduction of spiritual poverty and system thinking as the foundation for policy formulation and poverty reduction interventions in Africa.

In Entrepreneurship and Sustainability the editors and contributors challenge the notion that not-for-profit social entrepreneurship is the only sort that can lead to the alleviation of poverty. Entrepreneurship for profit is not just about the entrepreneur doing well. Entrepreneurs worldwide are leading successful for-profit ventures which contribute to poverty alleviation in their communities. With the challenge of global poverty before them, entrepreneurs continue to develop innovative, business-oriented ventures that deliver promising solutions to this complex and urgent agenda. This book explores how to bring commercial investors together with those who are best placed to reach the poorest customers. With case studies from around the World, the focus of the contributions is on the new breed of entrepreneurs who are blending a profit motive with a desire to make a difference in their communities and beyond borders. A number of the contributions here also recognize that whilst much research has been devoted to poverty alleviation in developing countries, this is only part of the story. Studies in this volume also focus upon enterprise solutions to poverty in pockets of significant deprivation in high-income countries, such as the Appalachia region of the US, in parts of Europe, and the richer Asian countries. Much has been written about the achievements of socially orientated non-profit microfinance institutions. This valuable, academically rigorous but accessible book will help academics, policy makers, and business people consider what the next generation of more commercially orientated banks for the 'bottom billion' might look like.