About the author

Martín Burt

Dr. Martín Burt is the founder (1985) and CEO of Fundación Paraguaya, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting social entrepreneurship and economic self-sufficiency to eradicate poverty. He developed the Poverty Stoplight, a groundbreaking tool currently used by over 800 organizations in more than 50 countries. He also created financially self-sufficient agricultural schools in Cerrito, Belén, and Mbaracayú, which offer innovative vocational and technical training in agriculture, forestry, hospitality, rural tourism, and environmental management. This model has been replicated in over 30 countries. A pioneer in microfinance, microfranchising, youth entrepreneurship, and financial literacy programs for youth and adults, he has helped establish over 3,000 women's entrepreneurial committees in Paraguay.

In public service, Dr. Burt has served as Chief of Staff to the President of Paraguay, Mayor of Asunción, and Deputy Minister of Commerce. He has authored books on social development, municipal governance, education, economics, and poetry. His most recent books are The Self-Sufficient School, Who Owns Poverty? (Spanish edition), and Who Owns Poverty? (English edition). He holds a bachelor's degree in Public Administration from the University of the Pacific, a master's degree in Science and Technology from George Washington University, a diploma in Public Sector Economics from the National Institute of Public Administration in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, and a PhD in International Development from Tulane University.

Dr. Burt is a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts and a Research Fellow at the University of California, Irvine. Born in 1957 in Asunción, Paraguay, he resides there with his wife and has four children and seven grandchildren.