Business on the Edge: Unlocking Profit and Impact in Frontier Markets, Viva Bartkus and Emily Block

The book, Business on the Edge: How to Turn a Profit and Improve Lives in the Worlds Toughest Places is available at the Conscious Capitalism Bookstore: www.consciousc...
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The world’s “frontline” regions-areas stuck in cycles of violence and extreme poverty-represent $20 trillion in economic activity. Many companies have deemed the frontlines too risky, unpredictable, and downright dangerous for potential expansion despite the untapped potential.
But in BUSINESS ON THE EDGE: How to Turn a Profit and Improve Lives in the World’s Toughest Places, Viva Ona Bartkus and Emily S. Block make a compelling case for bringing business to the frontlines-because it creates economic opportunity for communities and corporations alike.
Bartkus and Block are founders of the groundbreaking Business on the Frontlines MBA course at the University of Notre Dame, named one of the “10 most innovative courses in the US” by Forbes. They draw on their 15 years of real-world experience running 80 growth-oriented business projects in 30 countries, with partners ranging from General Electric, Newmont Mining, Accenture, and Green Mountain Coffee to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, the Foundation for Amazon Sustainability, and the Catholic Church, to offer a roadmap for accessing expansion opportunities in uncertain environments while also reducing poverty and conflict.
Re-imagining the role of business as the foundation for peace and prosperity, Bartkus and Block discuss:
Why the next round of globalization in the frontlines is just too big of an opportunity to remain overlooked for much longer
How to invest in the frontlines by deploying a stripped down business model that capitalizes on land and low cost labor in agriculture, mining, and infrastructure industries
Why companies need to develop unusual partnerships with social enterprises, humanitarian organizations, security forces, and local NGOs to succeed in these environments-building trust across sectors is vital
How business can mitigate security risks to its people and property-and how those activities contribute to the overall stability in the region
Inspiring stories from the frontlines
Bartkus and Block make one thing clear: business can thrive and improve lives in the world’s most challenging places. We’ll discuss to see how.
Speaker Bios:
Viva Ona Bartkus is an 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.