ABOUT US
WE ARE A GLOBAL
COMMUNITY CHANGING THE WAY THE WORLD TACKLES POVERTY
WE BELIEVE EVERY PERSON DESERVES TO LIVE WITH DIGNITY
OUR VISION
Neither the markets nor aid alone can solve the problems of poverty. More than two billion people around the world lack access to basic goods and services—from clean water and electricity to an education and the freedom to participate in the economy. We’re here to change that. Our vision is a world based on dignity, where every human being has the same opportunity. Rather than giving philanthropy away, we invest it in companies and change makers.
OUR STORY
Acumen was founded by Jacqueline Novogratz in 2001 to use power of entrepreneurship to build a world where everyone had the opportunity to live with dignity. Our goal was to invest “Patient Capital” to bridge the gap between the efficiency and scale of market-based approaches and the social impact of pure philanthropy.
OUR FOUNDER
Acumen CEO and Founder, Jacqueline Novogratz’s work began in 1986 when she quit her job on Wall Street to help open Rwanda’s first microfinance institution, Duterimbere—an experience that inspired her to create Acumen. When she founded Acumen in 2001, few had heard of the words impact investing.
OUR PARTNERS
When we first began, our vision was to create a venture capital fund for the poor, supported by a global community of philanthropists and businesses willing to take a risk on a new approach to ending poverty. Acumen’s donors are also our partners, because our collaborative approach is to invest together in long-term change.
