Every Which Way We Can -- Finance & Development December 2012

GLOBAL poverty reduction was once a battle financed by well-off countries with the support of international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. But times are changing. Philanthropic contributions by the likes of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, social enterprises such as the Grameen Bank, and the increasing flow of investment funds to developing countries are now taking on a higher profile in the fight against poverty. Developing economies are attracting more direct investment. But they still need official aid and money from private donors to help correct market failures and catalyze solutions for the poor (see box).