Dr. Martin Burt is a social entrepreneur and microfinance pioneer who has developed two social innovations: the financially self-sufficient agricultural high school model and the Poverty Stoplight, a new poverty metric and coaching methodology that is currently being implemented by more than 575,000 families and 1000 organizations in 60 countries. He is the founder (1985) and CEO of Fundación Paraguaya, a social enterprise named Latin America’s most impactful and innovative development organization by the Inter-American Development Bank. In public service, he has served as Chief of Staff to the President of Paraguay, was elected Mayor of the capital city of Paraguay, Asunción, and was appointed Vice Minister of Commerce. Dr. Burt has written books on economics, development, municipal government, poetry, and education. His latest books are “Who Owns Poverty?” and “Poverty Stoplight: A Practical Step-by Step Guide to Eliminating Poverty in the World”. He holds a PhD from Tulane University and is Distinguished Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Visiting Professor at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala. Dr. Burt resides with his family in his native Paraguay.
