June 2006

This is a fascinating, insightful article on the complexity and power of Bombay. As the world becomes more interconnected and the gap between rich and poor widens, how we make decisions and how we treat our cities will become even more important, reflecting the future, and the world, we wish to create. Building real opportunities for the poor - legal ones that enable access and choice - is fundamental to the survival of all of us, urban and rural.

Following on from her previous blog post, Alexandra Christy expresses her thoughts on our growing Acumen Fund community.

As you may have read above, Acumen investor and Woodcock Board Member Lindsay Shea and I traveled to India to see Acumen on the ground, and one of the highlights of the trip was going to the Indian School of Business (ISB) and meeting four of the students who had volunteered to work with Acumen while students. This was quite a group, and indicative of the kind of talent Acumen is drawing as its reputation accrues.

Two more of our inaugural Fellows cohort…

Ayeleen Ajanee

“The desire to work as a social entrepreneur was instilled in me since I joined the girl scouts at the age of six. My passion to help others grew as I became curious about new ideas and was stimulated by the possibilities of contributing to others…social stability at the grass roots level is a must for economic growth. Unless basic survival needs are met, it is difficult for people to concentrate elsewhere… I see Acumen as the perfect vehicle for me to contribute to the social change taking place in Pakistan.”

Eric Berkowitz

“My experiences in India have given me two important insights. First, the conditions of the poor are not hopeless but in fact there are many ways to improve their lives through health, education and microfinance initiatives. Second, only sustainable solutions to poverty can bring long term improvement - this is the motivation for my interest in Acumen Fund and its mission.”

GEO TV is an independent media channel in Pakistan, run by an incredibly exciting team of young people with vision and real passion for change in the world. Below is a note from the CEO of GEO, Mir Ibrahim Rahman, to announce the station’s Zara Sochieye campaign which is focused on re-evaluating the country’s Hudood Ordinances.

Pakistan’s Hudood Ordinances, instituted under General Zia in 1979, are a set of laws intended “to bring in conformity with the injunctions of Islam” certain aspects of the criminal justice system and make certain offences punishable by “Hadd”, which is defined as “punishment ordained by the Holy Quran or Sunnah.”

Introducing another two 2006 Acumen Fund Fellows.

Adrien Couton

“My long term objective is to build my profession life around the transfer of knowledge and skills between the business world and the social sector in order to tackle poverty. The exchange of ideas and people between these sectors is scarce, and this divide is a barrier to addressing global challenges, from fighting pandemics to providing basic services for all.”

David Lehr

“I understand the value of building partnerships and working collaboratively. To be most effective in meeting the challenges of sustainable development, I need precisely the type of hands on preparation and in-country challenges offered by the Acumen Fund Fellowship.”

This report focuses on how small-scale, decentralized, affordable and environmentally sustainable projects in water can reduce poverty more effectively than huge spending on large-scale irrigation systems, dams and canals. The report also showcases the success of Acumen Fund investee IDE India with drip irrigation systems, highlighting it as a good example of a low-tech, low-cost and high-reward solution.

Arguing that poverty in developing countries is neither due to low levels of water storage capacity in large reservoirs, nor to under-exploitation of their potential for large hydropower, the report condemns a resurgence of major “multipurpose” hydropower and water diversion projects as having unacceptable environmental and social impacts, not least because they will divert funds away from investments that would significantly reduce poverty. It is exciting to see reports that champion the widespread implementation of small-scale infrastructure for delivering basic services.

Reflecting on the recently held World Economic Forum in Cape Town, Jacqueline hinted at the evolution taking place in respect of capital inflows - partnership not aid. Acumen Fund’s timing is spot on, as this Business Day article confirms.

Introducing two more of our 2006 Acumen Fund Fellows.

Keely Stevenson

“I am applying to spend the next year of my life with Acumen because the universal message from my hospice patients was clear: life is short - only dedicate your talent and energy to something meaningful. It would be an honor to join the team.”

Fabrice Ndjodo

“I have learned through the HBS experience, that it is not only the tangible results of community work which will be on my scorecard as a social leader, it is also the constant pursuit of these results which will over time make a real difference. This is the reason why I want to be involved with Acumen - it is known for its relentlessness to foster entrepreneurship as a way to create wealth and reduce poverty in developing countries.”

Alexandra Christy, Executive Director of Acumen Fund Partner The Woodcock Foundation, recently traveled to India to see Acumen Fund’s work on the ground. She captured some of her insights in the following letter.

Greetings from the Woodcock Foundation where founding Acumen Fund investor Lindsay Shea and I are still basking in the powerful memories of our two weeks in India this past spring visiting three Acumen investments. As you might imagine, having the opportunity to see investees at three stages of involvement (Aravind past, Drishtee in process and Scojo about to sign) enabled us to “get” Acumen in a way that all the annual meetings, PowerPoint presentations, quarterly score cards, travel journals, and other excellent materials just cannot do.

What really grabbed us was the power of Acumen’s central vision of “serving the poor with dignity.” Dignity is a word that kept coming up during our entire trip, and in fact, in Bangladesh, where we were prior to India, our local host Professor Rounaq Jahan told us this the night we were leaving:

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post entitled “Lacking urgency” that discussed the importance of waking up individuals to tough global issues - and presenting constructive solutions, not simply overwhelming. Roshaneh Zafar, President of Kashf Foundation and an Acumen Fund investee, recently sent out the following letter and study, demonstrating the kind of leadership that we need. This is an important paper - a frank accounting of lessons learned in delivering banking products to the poor. Roshaneh’s is also an important voice for encouraging open and honest knowledge sharing and we’re proud to be working with her.

Dear Colleague,

As you are aware, Kashf is always geared towards enhancing understanding and improving information in the microfinance sector in Pakistan. We believe knowledge sharing and learning from each other and having transparency in the microfinance sector is the first step towards building a strong and vibrant industry in Pakistan.

We have attempted to put together a market analysis report of the province of Punjab both in terms of width of outreach, as in the potential market size, and the current level of market penetration. We were hindered by many factors in this initial assessment - the first thing confounding us was getting the right information on poverty in Pakistan.