The Urban Poverty and Business Initiative (UPBI) promotes programs across the country which serve to help the poor start and grow businesses of their own.  

Universities can play a transformational role in society, and entrepreneurship represents a powerful vehicle for doing so. Toward this end, we seek to build a community of universities and nonprofit organizations committed to poverty alleviation and the empowering potential of entrepreneurship. By leveraging the rich pool of resources available across our university campuses, together with the untapped resources that can be marshaled through community partnerships, we can make a serious dent in poverty.