A YEAR UNLIKE ANY OTHER
ANNUAL REPORT
1 Introducing Acumen
4 About Acumen 1 5 Letter from Acumen’s Founder & CEO 6 Executive Summary 9 Our Global Reach & Impact
Deep-Dive: COVID-19
12 Standing With the Poor in 2 a Year Unlike Any Other 15 Case Study: Esusu 16 Case Study: Mauqa Online
Acumen in 2020
18 Milestones 3 19 Investment Portfolio 22 Acumen Academy Tad Philipp Tad
Our Global Community
28 What It Means to Be a Partner 30 Board, Advisors & Partners 4 33 Financial Overview 34 Important Information 35 Acumen Manifesto
2 INTRODUCING ACUMEN
3 ABOUT ACUMEN
For 20 years, Acumen has invested in Fellowship programs, online courses and entrepreneurs solving the toughest social impact accelerators, which together challenges of poverty. These bold innovators make up a global community of thousands not only have the ability to imagine of leaders and hundreds of thousands of audacious new solutions, they also have course-takers. the grit and determination to make those solutions a reality. We raise larger pools of capital to scale our most promising ventures to address At Acumen, we use philanthropy to create the world’s most pressing problems. impact for the poor. Guided by our formula We currently manage three returnable for success — investing the right capital funds through Acumen Capital Partners. into leaders with the right character, and One is focused on scaling solutions in off- supporting them with the right community grid energy in East Africa, the second on — our approach is interdependent and innovations in agribusiness, education and multifaceted. clean energy in Colombia and Peru, and the third on climate resilience for smallholder We invest patient, philanthropy- farmers in West and East Africa. backed capital into entrepreneurs whose companies bring innovations in off-grid Through our approach, and together with energy, inclusive agriculture, decent work our global community, we believe we can and critical services. To date, Acumen has eradicate systemic issues of poverty and invested $137 million of patient capital impact millions of low-income people in 139 companies that together have around the world. transformed the lives of 309 million people. Acumen has been named one of Fast Company’s We spread our ethos, principles and Top 10 Most Innovative Not-for-Profit Companies practices to equip the next generation of and Acumen Founder & CEO Jacqueline leaders to make change through Acumen Novogratz was named one of the Forbes Academy, the world’s school for social 100 Greatest Living Business Minds. change. The Academy includes our nine
4 LETTER FROM ACUMEN’S FOUNDER & CEO
Dear Friends,
If we have the chance to find our best selves in the darkest times, then 2020 gave us the chance to make ourselves anew. It was a year of reckoning, both personal and institutional, a year of pain and awkward discomfort. But if discomfort is a proxy for progress, hopefully 2020 was a year that not only awakened us but also helped catalyze a reimagining and rebuilding of every institution, community and nation. the willingness to disrupt ourselves: for if we aren’t willing to change ourselves, how That included Acumen. Though we couldn’t dare we think we can change the world? physically immerse ourselves in the We will renew our understanding of patient communities we serve, we gained new capital, investing not only in individuals tools to get close to the problems of poverty but in communities. That will demand us that we came to solve. I personally was to become ever more creative in using our once again filled with a sense of reverence tools of capital, of accompaniment and of and awe for the capacity of human beings storytelling. Recognizing that our problems to respond to crisis and support one are too big for any single organization to another. And I was reminded that change, collaboration and partnership the opposite of poverty is not wealth — will be key. the opposite of poverty is dignity, choice, access and freedom. Most important is to recommit to the same north star that has guided Acumen since This past year reinforced how much our the beginning: to change the way the world dignity is mutual and entwined. tackles poverty and build a world based Philanthropists gave more, our team worked on dignity. We still have a long way to go, harder, entrepreneurs extended themselves but we have the skills, the tools, the moral fully into their communities, Fellows imagination and the confidence to address transitioned their entire programs to gather our world’s most pressing problems. online and our Partners large and small asked what more they could do. The results Let me thank you on behalf of everyone speak for themselves: we’ve never made a at Acumen for standing with us so that we greater impact in the course of a single year. can stand with the poor. And may 2021 be a better year, not just for those privileged few, There can be no going back to what was, but for all of us. for COVID-19 exposed the extent to which our economic systems overlook the most vulnerable people and the planet in the name of profit. Now it is to each of us to reimagine the world we must rebuild together. I know that for Acumen, and Jacqueline Novogratz perhaps for every institution, it will take Founder & CEO, Acumen
5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
It is an understatement to say that 2020 was made in the off-grid energy sector, a year unlike any other in Acumen’s history. Acumen convened sector stakeholders to When COVID-19 first began to spread, develop the Energy Access Relief Fund, a one thing was clear to us: this health and first-of-its-kind, target $80 million debt relief economic crisis would hit the low-income fund, to ensure that the 470 million people communities we served the hardest. If who have gained access to energy over the ever there was a time to double down on last decade don’t lose it. Acumen’s commitment to stand with the poor and vulnerable, it was now. In addition to its COVID-relief support, Acumen continued to invest in innovative Immediately after the pandemic was new companies out of its philanthropically- declared, Acumen sprung into action to get backed pioneer portfolio. We also announced much-needed capital to our entrepreneurs our second returnable fund, the Acumen whose communities were on the front lines. Latin America Early Growth Fund, focused We raised nearly $6.5 million across two on agribusiness, education and clean emergency response funds for our investees energy in Colombia and Peru. Further, we and Fellows to ensure that the most deployed capital for an initiative to invest in vulnerable would be supported. Seeing the businesses that enable climate resilience for risks that COVID-19 posed to the progress smallholder farmers in West and East Africa. Soumya Sankar Bose
6 Despite the challenges of 2020, Acumen year made us rethink many things — from did not lose momentum in spreading its the type of capital we deployed to how we ethos of moral leadership. We expanded partner to make change — it also unlocked our Fellows program to four new regions: new opportunities for our work, such as Spain, Bangladesh, Malaysia and the United how we deliver our leadership curriculum Kingdom. In response to the pandemic, or how we engage our global community we pivoted all eight of our in-person virtually. In these difficult circumstances, Fellows programs to virtual and semi- Acumen’s values served as a foundation to virtual delivery. adapt and to stand with the poor in the face of crisis. In May, we launched Acumen Academy, the world’s school for social change, bringing our +Acumen online courses and in-person Fellowship programs together under one brand, platform and website. The launch coincided with the release of Founder & CEO Jacqueline Novogratz’s new book, Manifesto for a Moral Revolution: Practices to Build a Better World. Due to travel restrictions, what had been planned as a multi-city, in-person book tour to promote the book, transformed into a virtual, grassroots campaign to spread Acumen’s leadership principles. The team participated in 125 virtual events and media opportunities reaching more than 100,000 people. The book is a Los Angeles Times best seller and has been recognized as one of Forbes and Bloomberg’s best books of 2020.
There is no rule book for a year like 2020, no map to show us the way. While the
7 NUMBER OF OUR COMPANIES THAT FAILED 0DUE TO THE PANDEMIC BY YEAR END OUR GLOBAL REACH
America East Africa India Investments: 24 Investments: 33 Investments: 37 Fellows: 168 Fellows: 135
Latin America Pakistan West Africa Investments: 10 Investments: 15 Investments: 10 Fellows: 47 Fellows: 127 Fellows: 43
ACUMEN ACADEMY REGIONAL PARTNERS
Bangladesh Malaysia Spain United Kingdom Fellows: 20 Fellows: 20 Fellows: 24 Fellows: 22
In addition, we have 10 investments managed at the global level, as well as 109 Fellows who participated in our Global Fellows program, which ran from 2006-2017. Figures represent cumulative investments and cumulative Fellows since program inception.
9 OUR GLOBAL IMPACT
Pioneer Investing
$137M $76M $33M Cumulative Investments Under Capital Returned Invested* Management + Reinvested
139 15 101 309M Cumulative Countries Active Lives Impacted Companies Companies
Acumen Academy Returnable Funds
KawiSafi Ventures Limited 715 Focus: Off-grid energy in Fellows Rwanda and Kenya.
Acumen Latin America 8 Early Growth Fund Active Fellowship Programs Focus: Agribusiness, education and clean energy in Colombia and Peru. 1.1M (managed by ALIVE Ventures) Course Registrations Climate Resilience Initiative Focus: Climate resilience for smallholder farmers in 193 West and East Africa. Countries Course-Takers Are From
*Since 2001. Figures in USD, M represents millions. DEEP DIVE: COVID-19
11 STANDING WITH THE POOR IN A YEAR UNLIKE ANY OTHER
Responding with urgency After 20 years of investing in entrepreneurs to support low-income tackling the toughest problems of poverty, Acumen’s priority was to support its communities through COVID-19 investees and Fellows so that the vulnerable COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic populations they served would not get left on March 11, 2020,* but even before the behind. Not only were these entrepreneurs virus crossed borders, signs that a crisis best positioned to respond because of their was brewing began to emerge. At Acumen, access to communities on the front-lines one of those initial warning signs came of the pandemic, but also many were being in January when lockdowns in China and overlooked by traditional aid and other neighboring regions disrupted investees’ sources of relief, making Acumen’s support supply chains for solar energy products. even more critical. As the virus spread globally, it became We reevaluated our approach to deploying apparent that health challenges and capital. While Acumen typically makes debt lockdowns would have devastating or equity investments in its companies, we economic consequences on communities determined that grants would be the best and businesses across the globe, tool to support the relief efforts. Guided by particularly among the most vulnerable. the belief that capital should work for us, not We started hearing firsthand accounts of control us, the Acumen team collaborated the consequences of the pandemic on our across functions and regions to quickly entrepreneurs and the communities they design funding vehicles that would be both served. Many low-income workers could not flexible and streamlined in order to direct work remotely when lockdowns went into support where it was needed most. effect and found themselves unemployed The result was two emergency response and even more financially vulnerable. funds: the Acumen Emergency Facility Others worked in essential jobs where (AEF) and the Acumen America Emergency social distancing was not possible or where Fund. The facilities were designed to provide personal protective equipment was not a mix of grants and loans distributed available, putting them at increased risk directly to Fellows and investees. Despite of exposure. In March, Acumen reached this unconventional solution, our Partners out to its Fellows and investees to and Board of Directors stood with us to understand their pandemic-related needs. meet the needs of the moment. With What we heard back was clear: the scope their support, Acumen was able to raise of the crisis was vast and unpredictable, nearly $6.5 million, and the first round of and support was urgently needed.
*World Health Organization. “WHO Timeline - COVID-19.” Available on: https://www.who.int/news/item/27-04-2020-who- timeline---covid-19.
12 disbursements were made in April, only a the financial instruments and technical matter of weeks after the pandemic was support to meet those needs. As a result of declared. Acumen’s leadership, this effort culminated in the development of the Energy Access To date, Acumen has deployed $5.66 million Relief Fund (EARF) — a first-of-its-kind, in emergency funding to 109 entrepreneurs, target $80 million debt fund. The EARF is impacting roughly two million lives and tentatively slated for a first close in early ensuring business continuity into the 2021, and aims to provide relief loans to at future. Acumen investees and Fellows have least 90 energy access companies, protecting used the funding to provide meals to food- jobs and keeping the lights on for more than insecure communities in Los Angeles, offer 20 million people who would otherwise be telemedicine and virtual mental health left without power in the midst of the worst coaching to individuals in Pakistan, ensure health and economic crisis in a century. access to at-home and virtual learning resources to children and adults in Sierra In addition, Acumen joined the World Leone, protect the livelihoods of smallholder Economic Forum’s COVID-19 Response farmers in Colombia impacted by supply Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs, an chain challenges and much more. unprecedented collaboration between 84 global leaders representing civil society, foundations, corporations and others to Tackling Big Challenges mobilize support for social entrepreneurs on the front-lines of the crisis. Acumen Through Partnerships is leading an effort within the Alliance to engage corporations in scaling social At the same time that Acumen initiated enterprises alongside Alliance members its emergency response conversations Yunus Social Business, SAP, IKEA Social internally, the team also began to coordinate Entrepreneurship, the Euclid Network response efforts externally. There was and EY. a growing risk that progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development While this past year tested Acumen in Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, would many ways, it also unleashed the type be lost due to the impacts of COVID-19 on of collaboration, commitment and moral clean energy companies and customers. imagination needed to design new solutions Recognizing this, Acumen convened that met the needs of the moment. Most stakeholders across the sector. What began importantly, it reinforced that changing the as a handful of sector investors in early way the world tackles poverty will take all of March grew to nearly 90 investors, donors us — Acumen’s Partners, Board of Directors, and sector leaders in just a few short weeks. Fellows, investees and teams across the With Acumen at the helm, a coalition globe — all working together to stand with emerged to mobilize resources to help the poor through COVID-19 and long after off-grid energy companies in sub-Saharan the crisis subsides. Africa and Asia weather the economic impacts of the pandemic.
By April, this coalition had conducted rapid response surveys confirming that hundreds of companies in the energy access sector were at risk of closing their doors. These companies needed help fast. The coalition began working to design
13 $6.5MRAISED ACROSS TWO COVID-19 EMERGENCY FUNDS TO SUPPORT OUR INVESTEES AND FELLOWS
$80MTARGET DEBT RELIEF FUND DEVELOPED TO ENSURE THAT MILLIONS DON'T LOSE ACCESS TO OFF-GRID ENERGY
14 CASE STUDY ESUSU
Samir Goel & Abbey Wemimo are co-founders of Esusu, a credit-building This COVID-19 pandemic platform that helps low-income Americans establish or improve their credit profiles. coupled with the racial When lockdowns started across the reckoning we are a part U.S., Esusu knew its customers would be of has been a wake-up vulnerable to the economic fallout. In call for all of us...We have response, the company reviewed customer to make sure this pandemic data and determined that 65 percent of doesn’t push marginalized customers would be unable to pay their communities even further rent, leading some to be evicted or turn to predatory lenders. In partnership with behind the starting line. Acumen, the company began to mobilize support for its most at-risk customers. Samir Goel & Abbey Wemimo To date, Acumen’s grant has enabled Esusu Esusu to provide 192 renter households making under $25,000 per year with emergency rent relief, and has catalyzed other funding to support many more households.
15 CASE STUDY MAUQA ONLINE
Saiyna Bashir
Fellow Muhammad Mustafa is co-founder of Mauqa Online, a company employing If the AEF funding had informal sector workers as professional cleaners, caretakers and cooks in Pakistan. not happened, we would COVID-19 has become a significant health have been forced to and economic crisis in Pakistan — the shut down. We had been country has the third highest infection rate speaking to other investors in the region — and is hitting low-income in the country but there communities particularly hard. Using was no climate to raise Acumen emergency funds, Mauqa Online an investment in, and this was able to add new services, including disinfectant cleaning services to help homes was literally our only hope. and businesses fight COVID — and in doing so, sustained 75 livelihoods, including staff Muhammad Mustafa and part-time helpers. Currently operating Mauqa Online in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore, the company plans to expand and employ even more informal sector workers.
16 ACUMEN IN 2020
17
Juanita Escobar MILESTONES
Despite unprecedented challenges in 2020, Acumen INVESTING did not lose ground on its mission to serve the poor and spread our ethos of moral leadership — SCALING & PARTNERSHIPS from mobilizing to raise COVID-19 emergency relief funds to launching new accelerator programs LEARNING to drive innovation, and more. View our highlights from 2020 below.
FEBRUARY
Acumen hosts its Energy Longtime investee d.light Summit in Nairobi bringing reaches 100 million lives together 90+ stakeholders impacted milestone with its to explore how to close the clean-energy products. energy access gap by 2030.
MARCH
The World Health In response to the COVID-19 Organization characterizes pandemic, Acumen’s Fellowship COVID-19 as a pandemic. programs shift to a first-ever virtual model to deliver its leadership curriculum.
APRIL
Two COVID-19 emergency Along with more than relief facilities are launched to 50 other founding members, support Acumen’s investees Acumen joins the World and Fellows as they weather Economic Forum’s COVID the impacts of the pandemic. Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs.
MAY
Acumen Academy launches Jacqueline Novogratz’s second a new website and platform book Manifesto for a Moral to make its online courses Revolution: Practices to Build and community accessible a Better World launches and to anyone, anywhere. virtual book tour begins.
The Path of Moral Leadership, a Acumen America hosts a new Acumen Academy master virtual demo day series for class, is released based on the health startups to present their principles of Manifesto for a solutions to Medicaid and Moral Revolution. managed care leadership.
AUGUST
Acumen announces the Acumen America & final close of its Latin Acumen Academy host a America Early Growth Fund series on poverty and racism to invest in impact-driven in America in partnership early growth companies in with its CEOs working Colombia and Peru. across the U.S.
The United Kingdom Fellowship program is launched, Acumen Academy’s ninth Fellowship program and fourth with a Regional Partner.
SEPTEMBER
Jacqueline Novogratz IKEA Social Entrepreneurship releases a new TED Talk, & Acumen Academy Award What It Takes to Make $50,000 to social enterprises Change, on practices for in East Africa, as part of building the sustainable a joint accelerator for systems we need. 19 enterprises.
The Rockefeller Foundation- Acumen Student Social Innovation Challenge awards $200,000 to 17 student-led enterprises solving problems of poverty.
OCTOBER
Acumen hosts the annual Partner Gathering, a virtual convening of its global Partners to learn from Acumen’s entrepreneurs and leaders.
NOVEMBER
As part of TED Countdown, Acumen is awarded $30M Acumen hosts TEDxAcumen, from the Green Climate Fund an event exploring solutions to apply towards its Energy at the intersection of poverty Access Relief Fund. and climate change.
DECEMBER
Acumen and IKEA Foundation partner to grant $1M to the Energy Access Relief Fund for emergency loans ahead of its first close. INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
More than ever, the events of this year have Innovating at the intersection of climate reinforced the importance of using capital to change and poverty has steered our alleviate poverty. In March, when COVID-19 energy strategy for more than a decade, was declared a pandemic, our investment and it is beginning to guide our approach teams pivoted to provide whatever support for investing in agriculture. In energy, we was needed to keep our companies have the world’s largest equity portfolio operating. At the end of the year, we are in the off-grid and clean energy sector proud to report that none of our companies with $32 million cumulative invested in failed due to the pandemic. 28 companies. 2020 was our fourth year leading the Pioneer Energy Investment Over the year, we made new philanthropic Initiative, which has offset more than 60,000 investments in 13 innovative enterprises tons of CO2 through its investment in 10 — including Zing Health, a Chicago-based companies. In agriculture, the growing insurance company providing affordable impacts of climate change continue to health care for Black and Hispanic senior threaten farmer productivity. As a result, citizens, and Haqdarshak, a technology we’ve invested in companies experimenting platform connecting informal workers in with new climate-resilient technologies. India to government welfare benefits. We For example, our new investee Kheyti — were also able to exit three companies founded by two India Fellows — is helping returning a total of $5 million — including farmers be more resilient to volatile an early exit from KopaGas, a company temperatures, drought and soil erosion providing cleaner-burning cooking fuel with its low-cost greenhouses. in Tanzania, and Sanergy, our seven-year investment in an innovative sanitation We know that philanthropy can be a model in Kenya. Both were exits to strategic powerful tool to unlock other forms of investors that will support the growth of capital across the investment spectrum. these companies going forward. This year, in addition to its philanthropic investing, Acumen closed its second In the United States, we continued to returnable fund as part of a growing fund innovations that confront issues of portfolio of funds designed to address poverty and systemic racism across health problems of poverty at scale. In August, care, workforce development and financial ALIVE Ventures, a fund manager that is inclusion. Acumen America has now built sponsored by Acumen, reached a final close a portfolio of 26 companies and is tackling for its $28 million returnable Acumen Latin barriers to accessing capital. More than America Early Growth Fund focused on 50 percent of its companies are led by agribusiness, education and clean energy founders of color, 38 percent of its founders in Colombia and Peru. identify as women, and 80 percent of its portfolio is based in regions underserved by traditional venture capital.
19 Our Pioneer Portfolio in 2020
29 $8M 46M 37 70 New and Invested Lives Technical Participants Follow-On Impacted Assistance on Company Investments Grants Boards
Pioneer Investments by Sector*