John Elkington, Founder of Sustainability, says "The Wilsons have produced a book packed with insight on one of the defining issues of the 21st Century: the eradication of poverty... No need to agree on every point; indeed, a key reward is having your assumptions poked."
The World Bank's Private Sector Development Blog says Make Poverty Business 'takes Prahalad's bottom of the pyramid philosophy and makes it actionable for the business manager who lives in blissful ignorance of international development jargon. A great airplane read, it also avoids the "well, duh" statements that infect so many management books. I highly recommend it. '
Alex Singleton, Director-General of The Globalisation Institute and described by Mark Malloch Brown, deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, as the "high priest of globalisation" says: “Make Poverty Business will revolutionise how people think about corporate social responsibility. No CEO should be without this book.”
William Keegan, Senior Economics Commentator of The Observer, says: "Entertaining, well-written and refreshingly free of management jargon, this is an engaging contribution to the debate on development".
Joseph S. O'Keefe, writer in residence at The Brookings Institution, says: "This is a savvy, eminently useful book that should be in the hands of global business managers and development agency staff alike. Craig Wilson and Peter Wilson go beyond the anecdotal evidence for tapping into the consumer and outsourcing potential of the poor. In clear, no-nonsense language they provide a roadmap of new angles, hidden pitfalls and profitable shortcuts.
They blend their first-hand, hard-won experience in developing nations with nuanced research by some of the world's leading development thinkers. Page for page, this book represents a very good deal - both for the poor harried managers in today's globalizing enterprises, and for the poor themselves, who will benefit from its impact."
Michael Strong, Chief Executive of Flow, says: "Make Poverty Business will be read by business leaders, but it should be read by everyone who cares about global poverty. It contains dozens of specific, practical suggestions for corporate managers interested in increasing the stability and profitability of their operations in poor nations - and, quite remarkably - the authors make a solid, level-headed case that their suggested business practices will reduce global poverty and improve the reputation of global business. A must read for corporate managers and NGO leaders who realize that ethical business can serve the best interests of all."
Craig Wilson’s previous book, ‘A Corporate Solution to Global Poverty’, co–authored with Professor George Lodge of Harvard University, was described by the historian Arthur Schlesinger as a “fresh and original approach to the economics and ethics of globalization”. The Harvard Business School academic and entrepreneur Juan Enriquez said: “Lodge and Wilson do not hesitate to dissect, deconstruct, and devour ideologies, policies, and institutions that have promised a lot and delivered very little. They provide an alternative answer, one that is clear, hard-headed, obvious, and mostly ignored; business is and will remain the driving part of the equation. If you are interested in results, this is an entertaining and smart book.”
