Entrepreneurship for Human Flourishing
Christians are invited by God to help those in poverty, and many are eager to answer that call. But how? Peter Greer, Jena Nardella, and Oye Waddell offer a biblical and economic understanding of how to address poverty and foster sustainable economic development and human flourishing.
Click to read the panelists' slides:
Recommended reading:
- Created to Flourish by Peter Greer and Phil Smith
- The Redemptive Nonprofit by Praxis
Peter Greer is president and CEO of HOPE International, a global Christ-centered microenterprise development organization serving throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining HOPE, Peter worked internationally as a microfinance adviser in Cambodia and Zimbabwe and managing director of Urwego Community Bank in Rwanda. He is a graduate of Messiah College and received a master’s in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School. Peter has coauthored over 10 books, including Mission Drift (selected as a Book Award Winner from Christianity Today) and Rooting for Rivals (selected as a Leadership Resource of the Year in Outreach Magazine). More important than his occupation is his role as husband to Laurel and dad to Keith, Liliana, Myles, and London. For more information, visit peterkgreer.com
Jena Nardella is the Nonprofit Portfolio partner for Praxis, a venture building group focused on advancing redemptive entrepreneurship through supporting founders, funders, and innovators motivated by their faith to renew culture and love their neighbors. Prior to Praxis, Jena founded Blood:Water alongside the GRAMMY Award winning band, Jars of Clay. Under her leadership, the organization raised more than $20M, providing small grants to grassroots organizations in sub-Saharan Africa addressing HIV/AIDS and water, sanitation and hygiene.
Jena is the author of "One Thousand Wells" (Simon & Schuster, 2015) which shares a captivatingly honest account of how her passion for saving the world grew to a more humbler, long-term calling of loving the world in all its brokenness. Jena serves on the boards of a nonprofit and a private foundation and spends her Sunday afternoons in a Santa Clara County Jail facilitating writing courses to inmates. Jena graduated from Whitworth University with a degree in political studies. She and her husband, James, have two children and live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Oye Waddell is the Founder & CEO of Hustle PHX, where he is fueled by his visionary style of leadership and the belief that all people have dignity. Oye’s long track record in urban education and entrepreneurship created a passion for him to see urban communities in North America transformed through business. In addition to Hustle PHX, Oye also serves as a pastor at his church and as a partner of the Hustle Real Estate Investment Fund, which is designed to serve as a pathway to homeownership for low income individuals. Oye attended the University of Washington on a full athletic football scholarship. He later earned his MPA from the University of Southern California and MEd from Arizona State University. Oye, his wife Crys, and their four young children - Chariot, Clover, Crescent, and Oye II - currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona.
