Business on the Edge: How to Turn a Profit and Improve Lives in the World’s Toughest Places

A road map for how businesses can grow and make money while reducing poverty and conflict in some of the world’s most challenging environments

Many companies worry that expanding into emerging markets is a risky--and even dangerous--move. Professors Viva Ona Bartkus and Emily S. Block see things differently. They argue that by entering markets in the world’s frontline regions--areas stuck in cycles of violence and extreme poverty--businesses can actually create stability and expand opportunity for communities and corporations alike.

From helping Colombian farmers transition from growing coca to produce to disrupting human trafficking rings by creating more construction jobs in the Philippines, Business on the Edge proves that businesses can make money while advancing corporate social responsibility, environmental conservation, and social justice. Partnering with groups including multinational companies, NGOs, and the US military, Bartkus and Block outline their process for generating opportunities, detailing their successes and failures in launching over eighty growth-oriented business solutions in thirty countries.

Bridging the gap between academic research and real-world experience, Business on the Edge shows how businesses can reduce risks, cut costs, and increase profits, all while creating economic opportunities that transform communities.

Viva Ona Bartkus is Paul E. Purcell Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. She is a former partner at McKinsey & Company and the founder of the revolutionary course Business on the Frontlines.

Emily S. Block is the George M. Cormie Chair of Management in the University of Alberta School of Business. A former consultant for Accenture, Block now teaches negotiations and decision-making and runs the university’s Business on the Frontlines program.