Amid various challenges that the world faces, Acumen continued to do in 2023 what it does best: stand with the poor. Last year, we built on our commitment to put low-income communities at the center of our work. Our 2023 Annual Report highlights our impact on multiple levels – entrepreneurs, people living in poverty, capital markets, and the critical issues we aim to solve.
Acumen
Investment Management
New York, New York 101,574 followers
Solving the problems of poverty and building a world based on dignity.
About us
Acumen is solving the problems of poverty and building a world based on dignity.
- Website
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https://go.acumen.org/linkedin
External link for Acumen
- Industry
- Investment Management
- Company size
- 51-200 employees
- Headquarters
- New York, New York
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 2001
- Specialties
- non-profit, poverty, social enterprise, impact investing, development, leadership, venture capital, private equity, base of the pyramid, bottom of the pyramid, social entrepreneurship, international development, climate change, Climate Adaptation, clean energy, agriculture, and education
Locations
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Primary
40 Worth Street
Suite 303
New York, New York 10013, US
Employees at Acumen
Updates
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We are thrilled to announce a new collaboration between Acumen and Next Bharat Ventures, a Suzuki initiative, to foster impact entrepreneurship across India! If you are an impact entrepreneur building for India’s informal economy and rural population, apply for the Next Bharat residency program. Check out the link below for more details on how this program empowers changemakers to create lasting social impact. Suzuki Innovation Centre | Vipul Nath Jindal | Mahesh Yagnaraman | Aditya Pandey | Paraag Sabhlok
Are an impact entrepreneur building for India’s informal economy? Apply for Next Bharat Residency Program
nextbharat.ventures
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We were honored to join the "Future Economies Start with Youth" podcast by Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) to discuss scalable employment models in West Africa! Adekemi Ajayi, Regional Director, and Bowofade Elegbede, Associate Director Investing from Acumen West Africa, along with Azeta Osagie, founder of our portfolio company CropSafe, shared their insights on innovative approaches to creating sustainable decent jobs for low-income Africans. Ahmed M. Darwish, SEM Call Lead at CFYE, joined the team for the episode recording. Key takeaways from the episode: 🌱Investing in small and growing businesses can provide pathways to financial and psychological resilience for African youths. 🤝Collaborations between organizations, governments, and private sectors are crucial for driving employment at scale. 📊Scalable employment models can be adapted to contextually relevant sectors and value chains. We can do more when we work together to create jobs and improve livelihoods for African youths and women. Listen to the episode now: https://lnkd.in/d9n_5RUw The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) is a 7-year program funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by the Palladium Group, Randstad, and VSO. #WorkforceDevelopment #YouthEmployment #JobImprovement #ImpactInvesting
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Improved health, education, livelihoods and so much more. This video from our Hardest-to-Reach initiative Partners, Power Africa, sums up how much progress can be achieved when energy stakeholders come together. Watch 👇.
WATCH | Partnerships power progress! Our ambitious goals—30,000 megawatts and 60 million connections by 2030—require collaboration beyond the U.S. government. It's essential to unite investors, government actors, and the private sector. Power Africa excels at building this coalition, facilitating information flow, and connecting partners across our network to understand and meet sub-Saharan Africa’s energy access needs. Hear from our partners about the impact we've had over the past decade 👇 #PowerOfPartnership #PowerAfrica #EnergyAccess #Africa Richard Nelson Sarah Bieber Acumen Lauren DiVenanzo Nadia Rhazi Khawar U.S. International Development Finance Corporation Chris Foley Joseph Rodriguez (he/him/his) JCM Power Amine IDRISS A. KARAMA African Union Development Agency-NEPAD Ify Emelife African Development Bank Group Sebastian Keneally U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)
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Our partnership with the IKEA Foundation has made renewable energy more accessible and improved lives in the communities that our entrepreneurs work in. Thank you IKEA Foundation for highlighting Acumen in your #2023AnnualReview and amplifying our shared lessons learned.
HEJ! 👋 We’re Acumen and we’re excited to share our #2023AnnualReview highlight from our collaboration with IKEA Foundation. Talking about failure can be uncomfortable, but when we don’t, we miss the opportunity to grow. The value of failure is in helping us – and other funders, philanthropic organisations and companies – to learn from mistakes, create more impact and make real progress towards eradicating poverty. Learn more about Acumen and how we’re inviting others to share their learnings from failures and enabling actors to make wiser decisions in the future 👇 https://lnkd.in/dFG8vzEQ Stay tuned for the next partner review! ⭐ #AnnualReviewSeries #PeopleAndPlanet #IKEAFoundationHighlights2023
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FX depreciation plagues the African market and it's time to do something about it. We're looking for investors, practitioners, and entrepreneurs who agree. If you'd like to be involved, or just have ideas you'd like to share, fill out this form 👇 .
Thoughts on FX solutions? We want to hear from you.
accounts.google.com
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For every $100 of venture capital funding raised in Africa in 2023, only $1.40 went to education. To say that this is a small amount is a massive understatement. This decline in funding was a major item on the agenda at Mastercard Foundation’s EdTech Conference in Abuja this week. Acumen’s Ruth Wairimu sat on a panel on investment challenges and opportunities in African EdTech. She highlighted the role of foundations, family offices, and grants in bridging the funding gap. Discover more insights from a conversation that included the CEO and co-founder of Acumen investee Zeraki , Isaac Nyangolo. https://bit.ly/464PP44
EdTech funding takes centerstage at Mastercard Foundation conference
https://techcabal.com
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Between January 2023 and January 2024, the Kenyan shilling lost 22% of its value against the dollar, and the Nigerian naira lost more than half. Such stark currency depreciation devastates African businesses. It makes revenues less valuable and leads to severe consequences like inventory shortages, debt issues, and job losses. In our latest blog post, Wanji Ng'ang'a, Associate Director of Portfolio at Acumen East Africa, and Daniel Waldron, Acumen’s Head of Insights, discuss the urgent need for new FX solutions. Read more and share your insights with us.
We need new FX solutions in Africa, now
https://acumen.org
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How can entrepreneurship address climate and poverty? How can the private sector create lasting solutions? We are pleased to announce that Acumen is partnering with the Asia Society to cover these and more on July 23rd. Join Jacqueline Novogratz in conversation with Steph Speirs, former CEO of Solstice, and moderated by Shaiza Rizavi. Register here: https://bit.ly/4cKMole
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Entre 2001 y 2020 la Amazonía perdió más de 54,2 millones de hectáreas. Con esta preocupación y las consecuencias que esta pérdida genera en las comunidades rurales en Colombia, Acumen apoyará a Amazonía Emprende, una organización que busca contribuir a la recuperación de ecosistemas degradados o deforestados y proporcionar soluciones sostenibles para las comunidades locales, en el fortalecimiento del Centro de Semillas Nativas. Conoce más en: https://lnkd.in/et_EGXDn USAID Colombia, Fundación Grupo Bancolombia, BID Lab
150.000 hectáreas de la Amazonía colombiana serán restauradas por Amazonía Emprende para 2031
https://acumen.org/es/