Inspiring book by an incredibly bright and optimistic woman who thinks outside the box and stresses the dignity, worth, and inherent creativity of people in the developing world. She at times disparages aid organizations for not listening to the people targeted by their aid, which leads often to irrelevant programs and needless waste or even harm. This is a resounding theme in much of the more recent development literature I've read; she doesn't say aid is useless (it definitely has its place), but alongside aid there needs to be a promotion of long-term, sustainable business, which will ultimately allow true development to take place. Poor people need access to credit, which empowers them to put their creativity to use and take control of their own lives without waiting for handouts. Her organization, Acumen, provides grants to social entrepreneurs who are developing for-profit solutions to problems that affect the poor and which helps to keep them mired in poverty. The for-profit solution treats the poor as consumers able to make their own decisions instead of beggars accepting whatever handouts they can get. It was especially fascinating to see how a product such as a bed net was marketed to the poor, who may not truly grasp the medical need but might appreciate the added prestige the product would give the owner. The narrative was made even richer by an exploration of Novogratz' feelings about being a privelaged rich white woman in a land where there is so much obvious need, and how she coped with that, as well as by a kind of digression where she explores the effects of the Rwandan genocide on the people she had known and worked with years before and relaying her own emotional response.

In the places where there is no social safety net for people experiencing disease, war, famine and other misfortunes outside of their immediate control, aid will always be necessary. Novogratz does not focus on this aspect of development, leaving this to others (with some mild criticism of the aid establishment peppered in); instead, she focuses on the diginity of the poor, that they are capable human beings who just need the opportunity to succeed and to make their own choices in life, rather than a passive people waiting on support and guidance from the rest of us. I don't think this tells the whole story of how development should/will work (capitalism to the rescue!), but I appreciated her perspective, her optimism and faith in people balanced with a good head on her shoulders.