TED has posted some of the talks from its recent TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania on the theme of “Africa: The Next Chapter,” including the presentation by Acumen Fund CEO Jacqueline Novogratz. Her video is embedded below, but we encourage you to visit the TED site to see other talks (new ones are posted each week) from the conference, which featured amazing leaders, performers and storytellers.

My hat is off to CARE for taking this important step (see article) to stop selling subsidized American farm products but instead, to help poor African farmers start profitable businesses that can help sustain them for the long run. This was an act of leadership that should be applauded. I’m eager to see what is learned in these next years about the building of agri-businesses in very low-income communities and also what role Acumen Fund might eventually play.

As you know, there has been a growing debate around giving free products to the poor versus charging them some price, even if only a token. This has been especially true with long-lasting malaria bednets. Jeffrey Sachs has been the world’s most vocal and effective advocate for providing free nets to meet one of the Millennium Development Goals of 60% coverage, particularly of pregnant women and children. On the other side, many social marketers, economists, and aid workers believe that people don’t value free things and therefore don’t use bednets properly if they receive them through massive aid programs. Acumen Fund has always felt this to be a false debate.

An article in The Guardian reports on the significant successes experienced in Kenya’s give-away programs which are seeing malaria rates drop by 50%, causing the World Health Organization to state that free net distribution is the best policy.

We are thrilled to see such positive and hopeful results. Potentially millions of people can be saved through relatively modest investment – each net costs about $10 to distribute. At the same time, it is important to note that a market approach may be complementary to free distribution as the only policy for change. Indeed, a combination of free distribution with building private markets – even if highly subsidized – might be a much more effective and sustainable solution for the long-term. (more…)

As India celebrates its 60th Independence Day today, this commentary by welfare economist and nobel laureate Amartya Sen talks about high points in India’s development and issues that still need addressing. He mainly points to the lack of nutrition, healthcare and literacy as the hugely evident gaps, especially in the case of children. There is much to celebrate in India’s history and much yet to accomplish, particularly in healthcare. Health continues to be a key issue area for Acumen Fund, with India as the location of many of our current investments and a continued source of potential investments.