Pakistan for Acumen presents: Why Social Investing? The Business of Social Good via Acumen Fund Blog
Rising from the Ash via Acumen Fund Blog
Yasmina Zaidman is the Director of Communications at Acumen Fund. She recently attended the Skoll World Forum in Oxford, England.
This past Tuesday I found myself moving past steep verdant hills at the border crossing between France and Spain, each dotted with sheep and donkeys in swirls of misty clouds. I was sitting in a car with four other people committed to meaningful social change against odds as steep as those hills.
Social innovation: a tall task!
This was hour 11 of a 17-hour journey overland from Paris to Madrid, inspired by a deep desire to return home after the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano covering Europe with ash had blocked all flights in and out of London, where all of us began our journey.
To return home from the Skoll World Forum at Oxford last week, a global... Acumen Fund and Ecotact on PBS NewsHour! via Acumen Fund Blog
Women Together: Incentivising Savings via Acumen Fund Blog
Meena Kadri is a blogger exploring the intersection of communication, culture and creativity. The following article discusses her research experience in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum, where she investigated locals’ usage of micro-savings schemes on behalf of Helsinki-based Niti Bhan. Meena’s writings can be found at her blog, randomspecific. More images from her research are also available from her Flickr page .
Prema Salgaonkar (above) has been working with Mahila Milan for over 20 years and now heads a group of local facilitators of a daily savings scheme for Dharavi residents. Mahila Milan means “women together” and provides a vehicle for the empowerment of women via leadership roles and advocacy alongside its pivotal daily savings collection. Prema visits around 450...
Inspired to action in Vancouver! via Acumen Fund Blog
Reflections from Dubai via Acumen Fund Blog
Get Involved with our San Francisco Chapter! via Acumen Fund Blog
When access to healthcare matters most: a personal experience of emergency medical care via Acumen Fund Blog
Yasmina Zaidman is Director of Communications at Acumen Fund. She recently returned from vacation in the Dominican Republic, where she personally experienced the importance of access to emergency medical care.
The hospital in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where Yasmina and her son were fortunate enough to receive treatment.
I try not to think too much about work when I’m on vacation, but when I found myself in the back of an ambulance in the Dominican Republic this past week, I couldn’t help but think about Acumen Fund’s work on improving access to emergency care. I was holding my 17-month old baby in my arms as he vomited into a bed pan, while two young medics stood ready to check his vitals. He had acquired an acute bacterial infection, we later learned, that was leading to... Announcing Acumen Fund’s latest investment: Husk Power Systems via Acumen Fund Blog
Acumen Fund is pleased to announce a new investment in our Energy Portfolio. Husk Power Systems (HPS), based out of Bihar, India, will provide decentralized power generation to rural villages in India’s “Rice Belt” states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Orissa. The company will use novel biomass gasification technology to convert rice husks into combustible gases, which then drive a generator to produce electricity. Acumen Fund will invest US$375,000 in HPS, extending its commitment to investing in safe energy alternatives for the poor.
One of HPS's biomass systems in action in Bihar.
Acumen Fund’s investment in HPS recognizes the considerable potential for financial and social return in the renewable energy space. 350 million rural Indian households remain... High School Students Learn About Acumen Fund via Acumen Fund Blog
Last month, Acumen Fund’s Wei-Wei Hsing, the Oliver Wyman Nonprofit Fellow, spoke with member’s of Preston High School’s National Honor Society about the work of Acumen Fund. Emphasizing the importance of social justice and the efficacy of entrepreneurial approaches to poverty alleviation, Wei-Wei helped the students further understand the idea of patient capital and how it is changing the world.
Having read Acumen CEO Jacqueline Novogratz’s The Blue Sweater in advance of the visit, the students welcomed Wei-Wei by perfoming a sketch they had written based on the book. Condensing Novogratz’s story into a series of key moments, the skit dramatized many of the book’s most touching and important events. Ending on a direct note, the sketch ends with... UNICEF in Haiti: An Update on the Crisis via Acumen Fund Blog
The following notes were written by Afshan Khan, of UNICEF.
1. The earthquake in Haiti is a double disaster…it is a massive hit on the Haitian people whose history is already too full of hardship. The country was crippled by four hurricanes last year. Access to clean water, sanitation, hospitals, and other infrastructure — roads and communication — was barely functioning to begin with — now, much has been wiped out.
2. Children are the humanitarian priority. Nearly half the population of Haiti is under 18 years of age, 38% are under the age of 14 — making children the first call, for assistance.
3. Life saving supplies, emergency experts, and equipment are arriving — Getting the supplies to those who need them is the key, and the absolute, number... Generosity Experiment Revisited via Acumen Fund Blog
Sasha Dichter is the Director of Business Development at Acumen Fund. The following piece is a re-post from his personal blog, which can be found here.
A few weeks ago I started a generosity experiment. The idea, sparked by a homeless man to whom I did not give, was to spend a period of time saying ‘yes’ to all requests to give – whether a person on the street, a donation request from a nonprofit, whatever.
Some people, like Jeff, really hated the idea at first (“AHH! NOO! STOP!” was his initial reaction); others shared my sense that the practice of being generous itself was inherently valuable.
A month later, I’m glad for the experiment. I gave more than I normally do and I gave more often. And it felt good and right, especially during the holidays, a time when... Crossroads Pakistan - The Current Wave of Terrorism in Pakistan via Acumen Fund Blog
Zahoor, a 2009 - 2010 AF Fellow, is currently working in Pakistan with FMIA, which provides micro-insurance products for low-income families. He has experience managing rural development programs and has worked in public-sector education in Pakistan. Zahoor holds a Masters in Sociology from the University of Peshawar and a M. Phil degree in Sociology from Malakand University.
The current wave of terrorism that the larger cities of Pakistan face lead us to assume that the insurgent elements pushed out of the Northwestern Mountains are now quite active in the plains and cities. It is true; some of these elements — including those who were pushed out of the highlands through military action — are currently taking refuge in urban spaces, generally in cities such as Peshawar,... CGD Screening Applications for Nick Kristof’s “Win a Trip” Contest via Global Development: Views from the Center
The Life and Times of a Surveyor: Stories from the field via Acumen Fund Blog
My experience shadowing Munir Ahmed and his team of enumerators revealed several stories that reinforced my conclusion that the search for black-and-white quantitative data is often colored by a cultural nuances and perceptions.
There are a few things enumerators must be cognizant of:
Sometimes there is nothing you can do to elicit an honest answer/ correct data.
While conducting research for an energy company on electricity utilization, Munir’s team had to attach a device onto the roofs of houses that measures the electricity output at the source (before it reaches the meter). When he and his team came to take the devices off houses the next day, one family had managed to collapse the whole roof in an apparent attempt to evade the exercise (without tampering with the devices) and... Summer Spotlight: Roll Up Your Chinos and Add a Little Madness via Acumen Fund Blog
Kyle is a summer associate in the Pakistan office for Acumen Fund. He is also a Master of International Affairs candidate at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Prior to graduate school, Kyle worked as a management consultant at The Lucas Group in Boston and as a research assistant at MIT’s Security Studies Program. He holds a BA in Middle East Studies and Politics from The Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.
Shahzad Iqbal gazed across Jassar Farm’s sprouting field of maize deep in rural Punjab where a new sprinkler system sputtered around in endless circles. Without warning, he kicked off his sandals, rolled up his pressed chinos, and bounded through the muddy field toward the device, narrowly missing the rotating... Sleeves Up! Working with Social Enterprise CEOs in Pakistan via Acumen Fund Blog
As (social) venture capitalists, a question we ask ourselves a lot here at Acumen is how we can go about nurturing and mentoring our investees. One of the challenges we face as a socially driven venture capitalist is how to act as an incubator for our investees that are usually in their early ‘survivor’ stages. Most of our investees are in this stage - usually because they are pioneering products and services that no one has had the audacity to explore before.
A few weeks ago, Acumen Fund Pakistan held an Investee Workshop on Leadership and Talent Building in Early Stage Social Enterprises in an effort to share ideas and creative solutions on one of the most common problems our investees - and indeed most resource constrained enterprises in their survival stages - face: attracting... Partnerships: Bringing water to the desert via Acumen Fund Blog
This post was originally posted on the Ripple Effect blog by Acumen Fund’s Sangeeta Chowdry - Ripple Effect Project Manager.
At the edges of the Thar desert in Rajasthan, in the region of Marwar -The Land of Death- Jal Bhagirathi Foundation, a Ripple Effect pilot awardee, has been working to bring water security to village communities. This is no small challenge in a region where the average annual rainfall is a mere 100-500mm and the water table is declining at a rate of 1-2 meters a year. The focus of communities here is to get access to any water at all – let alone safe water. It is in this environment that JBF has, amongst other water harvesting initiatives, been running a reverse-osmosis treatment plant in Pachpadra, about 100 km from Jodhpur.
Ripple Effect and JBF have...
The Infomercial Comes to Life in India’s Rural Villages via Acumen Fund Blog
We wanted to share a notable and amusing article in today’s Wall Street Journal—“The Infomercial Comes to Life in India’s Remotest Villages.” In the article, reporter Eric Bellman captures the creative approaches that many major consumer products companies are using to reach the rural Indian consumer. He shadows one of the army of salesman that global advertising agencies are dispatching to promote products by staging dances, skits, music, demonstrations and game shows in remote villages of 100 houses or less. Bellman also aptly highlights that rural markets in India (and many other low income countries) have been relatively insulated from the global recession and that India’s rural consumer spending is actually increasing.
This article really captures the... Not a Load of Bull: Acumen Fund Makes its First Livestock Investment via Acumen Fund Blog
“This looks just like South Jersey!” In true Acumen fashion, I had an “Aha” moment driving through rural Punjab on the way to see Acumen Pakistan’s newest investment, Jassar Farms. Located two and a half hours outside Lahore in Narowal, the region is surrounded on three sides by India and is only three kilometers from the border. So why did it look like South Jersey? Punjab is the breadbasket of Pakistan with a beautiful sea of green fields on both sides. As we drove deeper into the heart of Punjab, we passed fields of rice and wheat and sugar cane, all sporadically peppered with brick kilns. Even at the farm itself, spread across 250 acres of land, there were fields of sorghum, alfalfa, and corn, all being grown to process into livestock feed at the farm. At the farm, I... Hot Emerging Company? D.Light Shines Among Its Peers via Acumen Fund Blog
Acumen Fund has long admired the TiE - “The Indus Entrepreneurs” network - an impressive and fast-growing community of top Indian entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, lawyers and management professionals. TiE demonstrates the power of community with 53 Chapters in 12 countries, spread across 5 continents.
We are excited to share that D.Light Design, one of Acumen Fund’s portfolio companies, has been nominated as a finalist for TiEcon 2009’s 50 “Hot Emerging Companies” award. From among 1,200 nominees, finalists have undergone a rigorous screening process by TiE’s industry judges. D.Light Design’s mission is to deliver safe and affordable lighting and power solutions to households that lack reliable energy supply. It is exciting to see a... Will Surekha Dial 1298 for Ambulance? via Acumen Fund Blog
A tiny bead of sweat ran down the ridge of my nose. It reached the end, teetered for a split second, then dropped quietly onto the doctor’s desk. I sat behind the desk, inside the Vijay Nagar Women of India clinic, which is tucked into a government-built housing project in the Bandra East area of Mumbai. As the sweat hit the desk, it made a soft splat, and little Natra’s eyes followed it down. About 3 years old, he seemed pretty interested in the inability of this strange white man to deal with the Mumbai heat – not surprising, all things considered.
Natra and his mother, Surekha, had agreed to take a survey about healthcare administered by Acumen Fund Fellow Joanna Harries and her colleague, Rubina Dsouza. Joanna and Rubina work for Dial... Where do YOU live? Housing insights to read and watch via Acumen Fund Blog
Where do you live - in a house, an apartment, a condo, a dorm room? Is that an easy question to answer? If so, you’re in the minority worldwide - especially in a country like Pakistan, where more than 30 percent of the population lives in squatter settlements and an even larger percentage is effectively shut out of the home ownership market due to speculation, land prices and a difficult bureaucracy.
Affordable housing - and how best to provide it for low-income customers - is something Acumen Fund has been exploring for years now - especially in Pakistan. Along the way, our team has discovered some things that work, and many more that don’t. While these learnings made for great intra-team discussions and e-mails, we felt it was time to start sharing what we know - and... The Silicon Valley of Water? via Acumen Fund Blog
Photo credit: Flickr user malla_mi; used under a Creative Commons license
I recently gave a keynote address in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Engineers Without Borders, an amazing group of 12,000 students and activist-engineers who devote themselves to working on global issues at the community level, using their engineering skills as well as a values system grounded in a belief in community partnership. Exciting.
While there, I discovered that Milwaukee is positioning itself as the “Silicon Valley of Water”. Situated on a Great Lake, with four great universities in the area, a history of producing top engineers and a dying industrial sector, a vision focused on bringing forth technologies for clean water on a global basis is thrilling. (John Schmid at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel... When the farmer calls the shots! via Acumen Fund Blog
Generally, when I do the road trip from Nairobi into Western Kenya, I stay up late the night before so I can snooze during the journey. I sleep because I’ve taken the trip too many times to count – besides, it’s often a bumpy and dusty ride.
However, my most recent trip from Nairobi to Kitale gave me a whole new perspective. Instead of making my regular trip home, I was bringing the eyes of Acumen Fund from the office in Nairobi to the ground in Kitale. In Kenya, it’s easy to find stories of famine, poverty and political unrest in the newspaper or on television, but these issues become very real along this eight hour road trip.
In Kitale, I met many smallholder farmers. I took the photograph above at one of these very farms. My perception of the smallholder farmer has always... Acumen’s next interns via Acumen Fund Blog
This cost analysis hangs on a wall at in the Osembe Primary School, a concrete block building surrounded by rice fields not far from Lake Victoria.
It was created by the members of the school Health Club, a group of precocious young kids I would love to see become interns in Acumen’s Nairobi office someday. It is not hard to imagine these kids making the leap from “Simple Mathematics” to Acumen’s BACO analysis.
Osembe is part of a multi-year study run by CARE and several other organizations to evaluate the impact of providing sanitation and clean water in schools. Schools like Osembe receive new pit latrines, storage containers and chlorine to purify their well water.
There is considerable evidence that clean water and good latrines in schools dramatically improve child health... Building a future at KKB-3 via Acumen Fund Blog
Dreams grounded in reality via Acumen Fund Blog
We all want to be able to say, “This is the house my father owns.” This dream is floating all over the world. Pitrus Saab, early resident of Khuda Ki Basti 3.
I recently visited Khuda Ki Basti 3, a low-income housing development 2 hours away from the city centre of Karachi. I first learned of Khuda Ki Basti (”God’s Settlement”) and the incremental development model when I met Tasneem Siddiqui of Saiban during a research project in 2005. I was ushered in an office by Mr. Siddiqui’s assistant (his only staff at the time) where he sat at his desk, shrouded by mountains of papers and books. Though he was extremely busy and seemingly understaffed, he made himself available to speak to me. Mr. Siddiqui is the sort of person who inspires people. Not because he is a... We’re listening to the customer, and they want wallpaper! via Acumen Fund Blog
Acumen Fund has learned over the years that its most successful entrepreneurs listen constantly to the needs and the nuanced preferences of their customers. A killer new product will certainly fail if it is not designed around the customers’ behaviors and desires. We’ve seen it happen.
As part of Acumen Fund’s monthly breakfast series, we were joined last Friday by Richard Allan, Director of the MENTOR (Malaria Emergency Technical and Operational Response) Initiative, who spoke about a thoughtful new technology for preventing malaria: insecticide-treated wall lining (shown at left, with a customer in the foreground). Imagine a flexible wall-lining that you can unroll in long sheets and attach to the inside walls of a home. Only it is impregnated with an insecticide that kills...