2013-2016
MARKET-BASED INNOVATIONS TO SERVE THE POOR
© Acumen
2013-2016
ACUMEN
Acumen seeks to invest patient capital to jump-start early-stage social enterprises that provide low-income consumers with access to healthcare, water, housing, alternative energy or agricultural inputs. We partnered with Acumen to scale-up five companies that improve access to quality education and job readiness in low-income communities and provide clean energy solutions to off-grid communities.
CHALLENGE
© Acumen
ACTION
Acumen supported LabourNet, a vocational training company in India that focuses on informal sector workers. It also supported EduBridge, a job training programme that seeks to place trained students in entry-level jobs in banking, retail and financial services in India. In addition, Acumen invested in Hippocampus Learning Centres, which provide pre-school and after-school coaching programmes to children aged three to 12 in rural Karnataka, India.
CLEAN ENERGY PORTFOLIO
Acumen invested in BURN Manufacturing, a company that produces low-cost, highly efficient cook stoves in Kenya. It also invested in Frontier Markets, a company that works in India with small retailers to sell affordable clean energy products, such as solar lanterns and home systems, to customers living in remote areas.
WOMEN AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISES: A STUDY
Acumen and the International Center for Research on Women produced a report titled ‘Women and Social Enterprises: How Gender Integration Can Boost Entrepreneurial Solutions to Poverty’. This presents findings from several case studies of social businesses in Acumen’s investment portfolio, examining how they are engaging and impacting women.
IMPACT
STUDENTS TRAINED
by LabourNet since 2016
STUDENTS TRAINED
by EduBridge since 2016
CLEAN ENERGY PRODUCTS SOLD
by Frontier Markets in Rajasthan, impacting over 380,000 people
