Time: Saturday, March 8, 2008, 12:35 pm - 1:50 pm

Asia's economic growth over the last two decades has enabled tremendous progress in the region's fight against poverty. However, poverty remains the most pressing issue facing Asia today as the region is still home to two-thirds of the world's poor.

While traditional solutions to poverty involve aid through government agencies and NGOs, business leaders in Asia are increasingly driving sustainable solutions to poverty by empowering and developing the domestic private sector. Such solutions include microfinance, rural banking, inclusive business strategies, and enterprise development.

This panel brings together speakers involved in various approaches to economic development in impoverished parts of Asia. Speakers will share their experiences and exemplify how business leaders can help alleviate poverty in Asia through either non-profit or for-profit means.

Panelists will address questions such as: What are the key success factors and key challenges facing organizations implementing solutions to poverty in Asia? How do these success factors and challenges differ from what organizations may face in other developing regions? As Asian economies become increasingly developed, how might the nature, role, and impact of poverty-focused social enterprises change?

David Auerbach

Partnerships and Policy, Endeavor

David Auerbach manages international expansion and strategic growth projects at Endeavor Global (www.endeavor.org), a New York-based not-for-profit that catalyzes the growth of high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Endeavor has pioneered a new model for development that engages the private sector in mentoring and advising over 325 of the most promising and innovative entrepreneurs in Latin America, Egypt, India, Turkey, and South Africa. David has also served as Deputy Chair for Poverty Alleviation at the Clinton Global Initiative, former President Clinton's effort to engage the private sector in solving some of the world's most pressing problems. Before these roles, David taught English at Yali Middle School and studied Mandarin for two years in Changsha, China. He has also researched foreign policy issues at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. He holds a BA from Yale University.

Lakshmi Iyer (Moderator)

Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School

Lakshmi Iyer is an economist in the Business, Government and the International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. Her primary research fields are political economy and development economics. She has written papers on the relationship between property rights and economic development in India and Vietnam, and on the political economy of public goods provision in developing countries. Her ongoing research also examines other legal and political institutions such as electoral rules, the division of authority between politicians and bureaucrats and the legacy of colonial rule. Lakshmi Iyer teaches Business, Government and the International Economy in the first year MBA curriculum, and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Chandni Ohri

Regional Coordinator, South Asia, Grameen Foundation

Chandni Ohri is the Regional Coordinator for South Asia at Grameen Foundation. In this role, Chandni oversees Grameen Foundation's microfinance activities in Pakistan, India and Indonesia. Grameen Foundation is an international non-profit dedicated to the cause of poverty alleviation by providing access to financial services and information technology to the world's poor. Chandni completed her MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India. She completed a Masters in International Studies with a major in International Development from the University of Washington, Seattle. She launched her non-profit career with Grameen Foundation over four years ago. She is a native of India and is fluent in Hindi, Punjabi and conversational Urdu.

Juzhong Zhuang

Assistant Chief Economist, Economics and Research Department, Asian Development Bank

Dr. Juzhong Zhuang is an assistant chief economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He joined ADB in July 1997 and was initially involved in regional cooperation programs to support various regional financial and monetary cooperation initiatives in East and Southeast Asia. He is now heading a group of economists in the Research Department, advising on economic aspects of ADB's country strategies, programs, and projects. Before joining ADB, Dr. Zhuang was a research officer of the development economics research program at the London School of Economics. His main research interests are growth, poverty and inequality. His recent publications include Inclusive Growth toward a Prosperous Asia.