How can one learn from small initiatives to go further in creating a just society? The question to ask ourselves is whether it is possible to use the market to alleviate poverty, or is the current market-driven world essentially antithetical to poverty alleviation. This involves critically exploring a number of market-related initiatives, including public-private partnerships, corporate social responsibility programmes, efforts by civil society income-generation groups, savings and credit groups that are mushrooming all over the developing world with the involvement of banks and other financial institutions, and more. It is, therefore, proposed that a conference exploring these ideas would be a useful contribution to poverty alleviation in today’s globalising world.
