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A Year Unlike Any Other 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 Sankar Soumya 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.
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