World Bank Executive Discusses Entrepreneurship as a Key for Ending Global Poverty

May 7, 2001

Contact:
Linda Knopp, Public Relations Specialist
(740) 593-4154 lknopp@nbia.org

During a Sunday morning plenary session sponsored by Nortel Networks, Jan Piercy, U.S. executive director of the World Bank, will explain how encouraging sound economies, entrepreneurial companies and entrepreneurial cultures can help end global poverty.

The World Bank is supporting economic growth through an initiative entitled, "Our Dream Is a World Without Poverty," a project that aims to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty in the world by 2015. Supporting local and governmental initiatives that encourage entrepreneurship is critical for the success of this effort.

As the world's largest source of development assistance, the World Bank provides client countries with nearly $16 billion in loans annually to move them toward sustainable and equitable growth.

Piercy, who also has community development experience, was appointed to her post by President Clinton in 1994. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the President's Interagency Council on Women.