Poverty, Inc.: Fighting poverty is big business, but who profits the most?

Posted by: Department of History and Political Science

Courtesy of Poverty, Inc.:

"I see multiple colonial governors," says Ghanaian software entrepreneur Herman Chinery-Hesse of the international development establishment in Africa. “We are held captive by the donor community.”

The West has positioned itself as the protagonist of development, giving rise to a vast multi-billion dollar poverty industry — the business of doing good has never been better.

Yet the results have been mixed, in some cases even catastrophic, and leaders in the developing world are growing increasingly vocal in calling for change.

Drawing from over 200 interviews filmed in 20 countries, Poverty, Inc. unearths an uncomfortable side of charity we can no longer ignore.

From TOMs Shoes to international adoptions, from solar panels to U.S. agricultural subsidies, the film challenges each of us to ask the tough question: Could I be part of the problem?

Addressing this question on the evening of Thursday, February 11, co-producer Mark Weber will be showing a documentary screening of Poverty, Inc., engaging in discussion and questions following the screening.  This screening is sponsored by the Department of History and Political Science, the School of Business and Management, and the American Enterprise Institute.

Bio: Mark Weber is the Co-Producer of POVERTY, INC. and a founding team member of PovertyCure, an educational media platform and network of over 350 partner organizations and 1.3 million Facebook fans spanning 144 countries. He is an Associate Producer of the PovertyCure DVD Series. Before that, Mark produced and wrote the feature documentary Strong Bodies Fight, which earned 20 film festival honors and coverage on NBC, ESPN, and FOX. An avid traveler and graduate of the “Great Books” program at the Notre Dame, Mark is an explorer at heart with a passion for people. He has spent time in Bangladesh, China, Europe, Haiti, Japan, the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America. He has been accepted to the MIT Sloan School of Management, where we plans to pursue an MBA beginning in 2016.