Entrepreneurship and poverty reduction: A case study of Yiwu, China

There has been a significant reduction in the number of desperately poor people in the world in recent years. A great deal of that reduction in poverty can be attributed in China. There is great potential for new insights for scholars, in looking more deeply into the Chinese experience in terms of entrepreneurship and poverty reduction. This paper employs an in-depth case study of how poverty was reduced through entrepreneurship and innovation in the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu. This study is a response to some scholars’ call for more direct examination of businesses’ involvement with the poor to shed new light on the emerging topic of the roles of business in poverty reduction. Moreover, this study reports on key factors, new insights, and experiences which have led to success in poverty reduction and contributes to theory and practice in this area.