Market Solutions to Public Needs

The ASEAN Foundation, through the Japan-ASEAN Solidarity Fund, partnered with the Asian Institute of Management

to conduct a series of case studies on mainstreaming poverty alleviation initiatives in ASEAN. This project, seamlessly

linked with the Asian Development Bank Regional Technical Assistance (ADB RETA) on "Regional Knowledge and

Partnerships Networks of Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth," aims to contribute to the knowledge management

process and structure of the RETA by including private sector participation in the ASEAN region.

As widespread poverty continues to be the most formidable development challenge in ASEAN, generating

information and enabling knowledge products accessible is a strategic means toward increasing capacities among

decision makers, development practitioners, and other stakeholders in poverty alleviation.

The eighteen case studies included in this book cover various countries in Southeast Asia and provide an

insight into firms with corporate social responsibility strategies, and non-governmental organizations. Emphasis is

placed on the incidental benefits that accrue to the poor from firms adopting a bottom of the pyramid approach and

re-engineering products and services to make them affordable to the poor. Market Solutions to Public Needs seeks

to bridge the development gap and establish a viable and dynamic hub of best practices and knowledge products

that supports the building of the ASEAN community.