DOCSLIB.ORG

Growing Prosperity

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Growing Prosperity Growing Prosperity: Developing Repeatable Models to Scale the Adoption of Agricultural Innovations Excerpt for One Acre Fund This excerpt is from a larger study co-authored by Bain & Company and Acumen in November 2014. It is a portion of Chapter 4, “Repeatable Models: The key to achieving ‘good scale.’” The chapter discusses the elements of Repeatable Models, which are key to pioneer firms’ ability to achieve sustainable growth and encourage mass adoption. One Acre Fund is profi led as a company that is building its own Repeatable Model to ensure the Four A’s of adoption (Awareness, Advantage, Affordability, Access) are in place as they grow, putting them on the path to “good scale.” To read more of the full report, go to www.growing-prosperity.com. Vikki Tam is a Bain & Company partner based in New York. Vikki leads Bain’s Global Development practice and directs the fi rm’s global partnerships with Acumen and Endeavor. Previously, she was a partner in Bain Greater China and based in Shanghai. Chris Mitchell is a Bain & Company manager based in London. Chris is a leader in the Global Development practice and focuses on Bain’s work on sustainability and corporate responsibility. Fernando Martins is a Bain & Company partner based in São Paulo. Fernando is a leader in the Agriculture and Global Development practices and has worked with many agribusinesses and development agencies in South America and sub-Saharan Africa. Sasha Dichter is Acumen’s Chief Innovation Offi cer and is based in New York. Sasha is responsible for increasing the impact of Acumen’s work through the spread of ideas and investment in leaders. Tom Adams is Acumen’s Director of Impact and is based in London, leading all of Acumen’s global work in impact. Previously, Tom led DFID’s private sector and climate change teams in Ethiopia. Noor Ullah leads Acumen’s efforts in the global agriculture sector and is based in Karachi. Siddharth Tata is a member of the portfolio team of Acumen India and is based in Mumbai, where he leads their work in agriculture and education. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and fighting hunger and poverty. In the United States, it seeks to signifi cantly improve education so that all young people have the opportunity to reach their full potential. This publication is based on research funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The fi ndings and conclu- sions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily refl ect positions or policies of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Great Repeatable ModelsSM and Repeatable Models® are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc. Net Promoter® and NPS® are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld and Satmetrix Systems, Inc. Net Promoter SystemSM and Net Promoter ScoreSM are trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld and Satmetrix Systems, Inc. Copyright © 2014 Bain & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. “Complexity is a silent killer of profi table growth. Successful companies build a ‘repeatable business model’ that produces continuous improvement and allows them to rapidly adapt to change without succumbing to complexity.” —Re pe atab il it y: Buil d Enduring Busine ss es for a Wor ld of Co nst ant Ch ange By Chris Zook and James Allen Photo credit: One Acre Fund credit: One Acre Photo The foundations for repeatability very challenging markets and starting from a smaller base of customers. Our goal is to provide the leaders Bain & Company has been working with high-performing of pioneer fi rms with a way to think through and discuss companies across a range of industries and countries their path to good scale with their management teams, for decades. This experience has helped us identify what frontline personnel and investors. is required for companies to sustain their success over time. As outlined in the article “The Great Repeatable Building and executing Repeatable Models: Business Model”36: A four-step process Really successful businesses build their strategies on a few 1. Focus: What is your “core,” and how should you vivid and hardy forms of differentiation that act as a system prioritize your growth options? and reinforce one another. They grow in ways that exploit their core differentiators by replicating them in new contexts. The core. As simple as it sounds, a Repeatable Model And they turn the sources of their differentiation into routines, starts with articulating a business’s core from two per- behaviors and activity systems that everyone in the organi- spectives: which markets you will serve and how you zation can understand and follow. Powerful differentiations plan to succeed. The fi rst requires strategic choices about deliver enduring profi ts only when they are supported by “where to play”—which customers, products, regions, simple, nonnegotiable principles and robust learning systems channels and value-chain activities the company will that drive constant improvement across the business. focus on. The second refers to the few (usually four to seven) distinctive assets or capabilities that are at the As we interviewed management teams at the 11 case- heart of a company’s differentiation. Examples of these study companies, we found that those who were success- could be scale and cost leadership, proprietary intellectual fully pursuing sustained scale were implementing aspects of Repeatable Models. In this section, we lay out the elements of Repeatable Models, having tailored the framework for agricultural pioneer fi rms operating in 2 | Growing Prosperity: Developing Repeatable Models to Scale the Adoption of Agricultural Innovations | Bain & Company, Inc. Really successful businesses grow in ways that exploit their core differentiators property and technology, superior customer experience cency moves shows that the further an adjacent growth and loyalty, speed of new product innovation, marketing opportunity is from your core, the less likely you are or supply-chain management. Essentially, this step defi nes to succeed. If a new proposed area of your business the parameters of the fi rm’s addressable market: the will require you to sell to new customers in new geog- target customers for which a pioneer fi rm is optimized raphies through new channels, and if doing so will require to deliver on the Four A’s. your staff to develop new capabilities, then the odds of success decline signifi cantly (see Figures 15 and 16). Penetration. A pioneer fi rm should focus on penetrating This is all the more true when pioneer fi rms have had and achieving full potential in its core market. Within to overcome numerous financial, logistical and HR the parameters of a core market, there is generally a obstacles to establish operations in the fi rst place. large degree of sharing of customers, costs, channels and capabilities. This shared platform helps drive scale 2. Embed: Have you established the routines and culture economies and customer advocacy, which, in turn, to consistently translate your strategy into action? strengthens the fi rm’s competitive advantage. In markets where pioneer fi rms operate, it may be challenging to Hardwiring. The strategy of the business should be accurately assess their penetration of the addressable translated into clear activities through to the front line market, because good market data can be hard to come and consistently executed. Frontline routines have to by. However, even rough estimates on a village-to-village be codifi ed, and employees need to be effectively trained basis can contribute to this base knowledge of how success- to ensure that operations are effi cient and the customer ful the firm is in a given region. To be clear, by “full experience is consistent. This requires near-constant potential” we mean the optimal performance that can management focus on making sure employees know be expected for the delineated market, not the complete what the company stands for and are able to execute coverage of an entire customer base. the routines that make up the company’s operations. Ongoing training and reinforcement help make this Adjacency growth. Pioneer fi rms should evaluate ad- goal achievable. jacency options based on their proximity to the core. Bain & Company research across 154 companies’ adja- Chapter 4 | Repeatable Models: The key to achieving “good scale” | 3 Market entry routines. Ensure that your teams under- tiation into a few prescriptive statements that all employees stand how to calibrate the pace of expansion and how can understand, relate to and use as a reference point to enter and activate new markets. As mentioned, the for making trade-offs and decisions.”37 Particularly given agricultural pioneer fi rm’s path to scale has to be con- the vulnerability of pioneer fi rms’ customers, it is crit- quered village by village, region by region, country by ical that the company make very clear the ethos that should country. Geographic expansion is fraught with challenges. inform employees’ actions.38 Differences in tribes, languages, social customs, regu- lations and ecological conditions are just a few of the 3. Adapt: Have you set up the feedback and learning variables that can make success in a new area diffi cult systems to continually adapt and innovate? to achieve. So, pioneer fi rms must develop and execute routines that guide market entry at all levels: metrics Voice of the customer. Set up customer feedback systems that trigger consideration of expansion, methodology to ensure that the Four A’s are continually and optimally for evaluating the attractiveness of a new market and addressed. Like any business, pioneer fi rms need to keep an approach for entering and activating a new market the customer front and center.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Global Philanthropy Forum Conference April 18–20 · Washington, Dc
    GLOBAL PHILANTHROPY FORUM CONFERENCE APRIL 18–20 · WASHINGTON, DC 2017 Global Philanthropy Forum Conference This book includes transcripts from the plenary sessions and keynote conversations of the 2017 Global Philanthropy Forum Conference. The statements made and views expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of GPF, its participants, World Affairs or any of its funders. Prior to publication, the authors were given the opportunity to review their remarks. Some have made minor adjustments. In general, we have sought to preserve the tone of these panels to give the reader a sense of the Conference. The Conference would not have been possible without the support of our partners and members listed below, as well as the dedication of the wonderful team at World Affairs. Special thanks go to the GPF team—Suzy Antounian, Bayanne Alrawi, Laura Beatty, Noelle Germone, Deidre Graham, Elizabeth Haffa, Mary Hanley, Olivia Heffernan, Tori Hirsch, Meghan Kennedy, DJ Latham, Jarrod Sport, Geena St. Andrew, Marla Stein, Carla Thorson and Anna Wirth—for their work and dedication to the GPF, its community and its mission. STRATEGIC PARTNERS Newman’s Own Foundation USAID The David & Lucile Packard The MasterCard Foundation Foundation Anonymous Skoll Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation Skoll Global Threats Fund Margaret A. Cargill Foundation The Walton Family Foundation Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation The World Bank IFC (International Finance SUPPORTING MEMBERS Corporation) The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust MEMBERS Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Anonymous Humanity United Felipe Medina IDB Omidyar Network Maja Kristin Sall Family Foundation MacArthur Foundation Qatar Foundation International Charles Stewart Mott Foundation The Global Philanthropy Forum is a project of World Affairs.
    [Show full text]
  • Update on Technical Assistance Initiative - December 2014
    Update on Technical Assistance Initiative - December 2014 To all of you who make the TA Initiative possible – thank you! I wanted to reach out to share the highlights of the year as well as plans for 2015. When we launched the TA Initiative in 2013, it was an experiment co-created by Dow Chemical and Acumen. We wanted to test new models to accelerate the growth of social enterprises and discover partnership opportunities between corporations and these enterprises. Since then, we have been joined by TA Initiative Partners Unilever, and Barclays, and have been supported by sponsors including Apollo Insurance, Coca-Cola and Standard Chartered. Over 20 of our portfolio companies have attended our Summits. In addition to the two TA Summits, we have awarded thirteen technical assistance grants, engaged the Dow Sustainability Corps in three direct engagements with our portfolio companies, and helped to facilitate new relationships between our portfolio companies in East and West Africa and our corporate partners. Most importantly we have learned a tremendous amount about the technical assistance needs of our enterprises. We have also seen the potential for targeted grants to have a real impact on enterprise growth, and as a result, people’s lives. As we look ahead, we are excited to enter the third year of the 5-year TA Initiative and are counting on each of you to continue shaping our work together. We are in the early planning stages for the third TA Summit May 5-7 2015, and will be in touch with you to seek your input on the agenda.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Skills in Sub-Saharan Africa Spotlight on Ghana
    Digital Skills in Sub-Saharan Africa Spotlight on Ghana IN COOPERATION WITH: ABOUT IFC Research and writing underpinning the report was conducted by the L.E.K. Global Education practice. The L.E.K. IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of team was led by Ashwin Assomull, Maryanna Abdo, and the World Bank Group—is the largest global development Ridhi Gupta, including writing by Maryanna Abdo, Priyanka institution focused on the private sector in emerging Thapar, and Jaisal Kapoor and research contributions by Neil markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses Aneja, Shrrinesh Balasubramanian, Patrick Desmond, Ridhi worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to Gupta, Jaisal Kapoor, Rohan Sur, and Priyanka Thapar. create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of Sudeep Laad provided valuable insights on the Ghana the world. For more information, visit www.ifc.org. market landscape and opportunity sizing. ABOUT REPORT L.E.K. is a global management consulting firm that uses deep industry expertise and rigorous analysis to help business This publication, Digital Skills in Sub-Saharan Africa: Spotlight leaders achieve practical results with real impact. The Global on Ghana, was produced by the Manufacturing Agribusiness Education practice is a specialist international team based in and Services department of the International Finance Singapore serving a global client base from China to Chile. Corporation, in cooperation with the Global Education practice at L.E.K. Consulting. It was developed under the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS overall guidance of Tomasz Telma (Senior Director, MAS), The report would not have been possible without the Mary-Jean Moyo (Director, MAS, Middle-East and Africa), participation of leadership and alumni from eight case study Elena Sterlin (Senior Manager, Global Health and Education, organizations, including: MAS) and Olaf Schmidt (Manager, Services, MAS, Sub- Andela: Lara Kok, Executive Coordinator; Anudip: Dipak Saharan Africa).
    [Show full text]
  • Living Philanthropic Values: Maintaining a “Listening Ear”
    2015 Global Philanthropy Forum Conference This book includes transcripts from the plenary sessions and keynote conversations of the 2015 Global Philanthropy Forum Conference. The statements made and views expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of GPF, its participants, the World Affairs Council of Northern California or any of its funders. Prior to publication, the authors were given the opportunity to review their remarks. Some have made minor adjustments. In general, we have sought to preserve the tone of these panels to give the reader a sense of the Conference. The Conference would not have been possible without the support of our partners and members listed below, as well as the dedication of the wonderful team at the World Affairs Council. Special thanks go to the GPF team — Suzy Antounian, Britt-Marie Alm, Pearl Darko, Brett Dobbs, Sylvia Hacaj, Ashlee Rea, Sawako Sonoyama, and Nicole Wood — for their work and dedication to the GPF, its community and its mission. FOUNDATION PARTNERS NoVo Foundation Margaret A. Cargill Foundation The David & Lucile Packard Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Foundation Skoll Foundation SUPPORTING MEMBERS Skoll Global Threats Fund Citi Foundation International Finance Corporation Dangote Foundation The World Bank Ford Foundation The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley MEMBERS Charitable Trust AbbVie Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Anonymous Humanity United The Aspen Institute Inter-American Development Bank Mr. & Mrs. William H. Draper III Maja Kristin Omidyar Network John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Salesforce.com Foundation Foundation Sall Family Foundation Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Waggener Edstrom Communications Newman’s Own Foundation The Global Philanthropy Forum is a project of the World Affairs Council of Northern California.
    [Show full text]
  • Acumen Fund and Embrace: from the Leading Edge of Social Venture Investing
    CASE: SM-191 DATE: 04/14/11 ACUMEN FUND AND EMBRACE: FROM THE LEADING EDGE OF SOCIAL VENTURE INVESTING INTRODUCTION Jane Chen (GSB 08) and Brian Trelstad (GSB 99) had known one another for years. Trelstad, the chief investment officer of the nonprofit global venture fund Acumen Fund, had been a mentor to Chen and her colleagues as they worked to develop a low cost infant warmer to meet the needs of low birth-weight babies, their mothers, and healthcare providers in developing countries. Chen, who became the chief executive officer of Embrace Global, the nonprofit founded to achieve this objective, had come to value Trelstad’s guidance and trust his advice. In late 2010, as she and her team were on the cusp getting their innovative new product to market, Chen and Trelstad’s relationship took on a new dimension. Embrace was seeking an infusion of funds to support its product launch and help the company rapidly achieve scale. In parallel, Acumen Fund was continuing to look for organizations with game-changing products and services in need of patient capital on their way to becoming self-sustaining businesses that effectively serve the poor. Suddenly, Trelstad was a potential investor and Chen was a prospective investee. As they explored the possibilities of a financial partnership, one of the key questions facing Embrace was whether or not it should consider adopting a for-profit or hybrid organization structure so it could raise more substantial funding by taking on equity investors. Acumen Fund had to think about whether or not it was interested in investing in Embrace, how to value the company, and how large a stake it might be willing to take if a deal moved forward.
    [Show full text]
  • Accelerating Energy Access
    ACUMEN 2018 ACCELERATING ENERGY ACCESS: THE ROLE OF PATIENT CAPITAL ACUMEN WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR PARTNERS THAT GENEROUSLY SUPPORT THE PIONEER ENERGY INVESTMENT INITIATIVE STEVE ROSS & THE BERNARD & ANNE SPITZER SHELLEY SCHERER CHARITABLE TRUST GLOBAL OFFICES SPECIAL THANKS ACCRA, GHANA Special thanks to our peer reviewers Saad Ahmad, David Aitken, Magdalena Banasiak, Morgan DeFoort, Fabio De Pascale, BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA Christine Eibs-Singer, Peter George, Steven Hunt, Neha Juneja, KARACHI, PAKISTAN Jill Macari, Damian Miller, Jesse Moore, Willem Nolens, Steve Ross, LONDON, ENGLAND Peter Scott, Ajaita Shah, Manoj Sinha, Ned Tozun, Nico Tyabji, MUMBAI, INDIA Hugh Whalan, and David Woolnough NAIROBI, KENYA Special thanks to Carlyle Singer for her strategic guidance and NEW YORK, U.S.A. Harsha Mishra for his analytical research. Additional thanks SAN FRANCISCO, U.S.A. to the Acumen team: Sasha Dichter, Kat Harrison, Kate Montgomery, Jacqueline Novogratz, Sachindra Rudra, and Yasmina Zaidman Lead Authors: Leslie Labruto and Esha Mufti Table of Contents FOREWORD 02 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 04 INTRODUCTION 06 1. ENERGY SNAPSHOT: 08 ACUMEN’S TRACK RECORD FOR INVESTING IN ENERGY ACCESS 2. THE PIONEER GAP: 12 HOW HAS THE INFLUX OF CAPITAL AFFECTED ENTREPRENEURS? 3. NEED FOR CAPITAL: 16 FILLING GAPS IN OFF-GRID ENERGY MARKETS TODAY 4. THE BIG PICTURE: 26 WHAT IS THE OPTIMAL MIX FOR SCALING ENERGY ACCESS COMPANIES? 5. REACHING THE POOR: 38 USING PATIENT CAPITAL TO ACCELERATE IMPACT 6. BEYOND CAPITAL: 46 WHAT DO ENERGY ACCESS STARTUPS NEED? 7. FACILITATING EXITS: 48 SENDING THE RIGHT MARKET SIGNALS 8. CONCLUSION: 56 WORKING TOGETHER TO CATALYZE ENERGY ACCESS APPENDIX 58 CASEFOREWORD STUDY Jacqueline Novogratz FOUNDER & CEO Dear Reader, I am pleased to share Acumen’s Accelerating Energy Access: The Role of Patient Capital report with you.
    [Show full text]
  • An Evidence Review: How Affordable Is Off-Grid Energy Access in Africa? 1
    An Evidence Review: How Affordable Is Off-Grid Energy Access In Africa? 1 AN EVIDENCE REVIEW: How affordable is off-grid energy access in Africa? March 2017 An Evidence Review: How Affordable Is Off-Grid Energy Access In Africa? 2 AUTHORS ABOUT Kat Harrison is Associate Director of Acumen’s This report was commissioned by CDC Group Lean Data team and leads its work in the energy and prepared by Kat Harrison and Tom Adams sector. She has extensive experience in both of Acumen. The views presented in this paper impact measurement and renewable energy having are those of the authors and do not necessarily previously founded the Research and Impact team represent the views of CDC. at SolarAid. Kat has been Chair of the Global Off For more information on this report, please reach Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA) Impact Working out to Kat on [email protected]. Group since its formation in 2013 and led the development of the harmonised impact metrics for the off-grid energy sector. Kat conceived and managed the sector’s most extensive collection of large-scale, experimental evaluations into the impact of solar lighting, working alongside partners including Stanford University, Google, Berkeley, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund. Tom Adams is Director of Acumen’s Lean Data team heading the organisation’s work to understand the how and why of creating social value through patient capital investing. Prior to Acumen Tom worked for the UK Department for International Development (DFID), first as Country Economist in Nigeria and subsequently leading its Wealth Creation and Climate Change team in Ethiopia.
    [Show full text]
  • Impact at Acumen
    CASE STUDY On Off-Grid Energy Prepared for the Impact Management Project Intentions Goals Deliver Understand Re-set INTRODUCTION About this Case Study: The case study profiles Acumen’s investing into off-grid energy, and highlights the value and importance of collecting data across all of the dimensions of impact. It aims to bring the full impact Impact Management Project management process to life from the perspective of an investment manager. Dimensions of Impact: Acumen has been making investments for the past sixteen years to help build financially sustainable organizations that deliver affordable goods and services that improve the lives of the poor. Acumen What outcomes does the have pioneered Lean DataSM an approach to data collection which helps to build more impactful effect relate to, and how businesses by providing them with data on their social performance, customer feedback and important are they? customer behaviour. WHAT This case study illustrates how the data collected helps Acumen and its investees understand which important outcomes (within Acumen’s target themes) the enterprises contribute to, as well as how How significant is the effect? significant the effects are, and how underserved the people are who experience the effects. This data therefore enables Acumen to improve these positive effects. HOW MUCH While impact management is still a work in progress for Acumen, they have made considerable Who experiences the effect, effort to understand which indicators are the best measures with which to track and assess performance against their goals. They have also used this information to re-set their goals and and how underserved are they improve their impact.
    [Show full text]
  • EY Entrepreneur of the Year
    National awards magazine | Nemer Seeing leaers i nstoppable ambiion ominations or the ntrepreneur O he ear® 2020 rogram are oen through arch 020. ey.com/us/eoy ii Catalytic chemist Dr. Joe DeSimone, Co‑Founder and CEO of Carbon, Inc., has revolutionized the field of 3D printing to help transform digital manufacturing. 01 rnst 01 ll oung LP ights eserved one. Congralaions o e nstoppables Our ntrepreneur he ear® 2019 ward winners are transforming the worl. iii ey.com/us/eoy 01 rnst 01 ll oung LP ights eserved one. ere t the ne h neer gie a ear wen we meet te nominees or te ntrerener e ear® Award we are astonised one again teir ision insigt and determination rien te desire to etter te world arond tem te dont let anting stand in teir wa. Congralaions o Our Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 Award winners embody that unstoppable ambition. Amid the noise of this transformative age, they break away from the pack — and end up leading it. e nstoppables The companies built by these leaders surpass US market performance in revenue growth, job creation and longevity while helping to solve some of the greatest challenges facing the ® Our ntrepreneur he ear world today. In this magazine, we celebrate their success and the 2019 ward winners are promise of more to come. Taken as a whole, our 233 US regional award winners representing transforming the worl 191 entrepreneurial companies accomplished remarkable things in 2019: ey.com/us/eoy • They employed more than 146,000 people and achieved job growth of 28%.
    [Show full text]
  • How to Make the Greatest Impact
    case 1-428-592 17 December 2007 Acumen Fund: How to Make the Greatest Impact “This is indeed wonderful news. We are honored that your foundation is seriously considering providing Acumen Fund with a $10 million contribution. As we discussed, we will provide a proposal highlighting how we believe Acumen can best maximize its impact with these new funds,” said Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen Fund, responding to the representative of a family foundation that was prepared to make this generous donation. “I will review this with my management team, and we will submit our final recommendation within three days.” Novogratz hung up the phone and looked across her desk at Brian Trelstad, Acumen Fund’s Chief Investment Officer. A family foundation had approached Acumen Fund about a possible large contribution, but first wanted a clear and compelling statement of how Acumen Fund intended to utilize those funds. Novogratz and Trelstad, together with the rest of Acumen’s top management team, had recently initiated a series of internal conversations on the various options that Acumen could pursue to expand its impact. Now they had to move from discussion to consensus. Since its inception at the end of 2001, Acumen Fund had grown rapidly. By the end of 2006, it had approximately $20 million under management in 17 social enterprises, impacting close to 10 million lives at the base of the pyramid (BoP), or those making less than $4 a day. As the organization looked five years into the future, it had ambitions to grow its portfolio to $100 million in 60-80 enterprises, targeting to impact 50 million lives.
    [Show full text]
  • The Acumen 15-Year Report
    MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE THE ACUMEN 15-YEAR REPORT 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS A NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDER 4 15 MILESTONES IN 15 YEARS 6 INTRODUCTION 8 FROM PATIENT CAPITAL TO CATALYTIC CAPITAL 10 THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER AT SCALE 14 MORAL LEADERSHIP FOR THE 21ST CENTURY 18 POVERTY WITHOUT BORDERS 22 SHIFTING MINDSETS, CHANGING SYSTEMS 26 OUR COMPANIES 28 OUR PARTNERS 30 FINANCIALS 33 2 LifeSpring, India Photo by Martin Schoeller 3 hen we began this journey in 2001, the world was a different place. Few had heard of “patient capital” and “impact investing.” We set out to challenge the status quo and create a new kind of institution, one that would W bridge the gap between the social impact of pure philanthropy and the efficiency and scale of market-based approaches. Without a roadmap, we set out to change the way the world tackles poverty. Acumen has grown up against the backdrop of tectonic shifts in the global economy. We formed as the dot-com bubble was bursting. Five months later, we witnessed the Twin Towers fall on 9/11, unleashing the War on Terror and the beginning of a period of growing mistrust. The financial crisis of 2008 exponentially exacerbated the erosion of trust in institutions. We have seen capitalism and religion’s hardest edges carve deepening rifts in society, both economic and social. New technologies have advanced to the point where there are now nearly as many cell phones as there are people on the planet. Seemingly overnight, the world has shrunk. While our interconnection offers enormous opportunity for human flourishing, so does it also enable the flow of people, terrorism, corruption and disease.
    [Show full text]
  • PUBLIC DISCLOSURE COPY ** Form 990 (2018) ACUMEN FUND, INC
    ** PUBLIC DISCLOSURE COPY ** Form 990 (2018) ACUMEN FUND, INC. 13-4166228 Page 2 Part III Statement of Program Service Accomplishments Check if Schedule O contains a response or note to any line in this Part III X 1 Briefly describe the organization's mission: ACUMEN FUND IS WORKING TO CHANGE THE WAY THE WORLD TACKLES POVERTY BY INVESTING IN COMPANIES, LEADERS AND IDEAS. [SEE CONTINUATION ON SCHEDULE O] 2 Did the organization undertake any significant program services during the year which were not listed on the prior Form 990 or 990-EZ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes X No If "Yes," describe these new services on Schedule O. 3 Did the organization cease conducting, or make significant changes in how it conducts, any program services? ~~~~~~ Yes X No If "Yes," describe these changes on Schedule O. 4 Describe the organization's program service accomplishments for each of its three largest program services, as measured by expenses. Section 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations are required to report the amount of grants and allocations to others, the total expenses, and revenue, if any, for each program service reported. 4a (Code: ) (Expenses $ 9,892,742. including grants of $ 753,704. ) (Revenue $ 2,431,762. ) INVESTING AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: ACUMEN INVESTS PATIENT CAPITAL IN BUSINESS MODELS THAT DELIVER CRITICAL, AFFORDABLE GOODS AND SERVICES TO THE WORLD'S POOR, IMPROVING THE LIVES OF MILLIONS. SINCE 2001, ACUMEN HAS INVESTED IN BUSINESSES THAT PROVIDE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, ENERGY, EDUCATION, WATER & SANITATION, HOUSING, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND AGRICULTURAL SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS. OUR INVESTMENTS ARE ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS OF POVERTY IN EAST AND WEST AFRICA, SOUTH ASIA, LATIN AMERICA AND THE UNITED STATES.
    [Show full text]