 "Jacqueline Novogratz")
Acumen, a global venture fund that works with entrepreneurs to solve the problems of the poor, has been investing in India since 2002. Its initiatives have touched 23 million lives, providing them with "dignity not dependence". The fund is working across portfolios from low-cost maternity care, to skills training and education, water filtration enterprises and more and has invested $31.9 million in 26 firms.
In an interview with Gireesh Babu, Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder and chief executive officer of Acumen, says the people who have worked for years have come forward to support and guide the newer generation of entrepreneurs who want to work with a focus on the poor, and contribute to their country. Edited Excerpts:
How do you see the social enterprises sector in India at present?
The social enterprises sector offers scope for using private initiative and resources to solve public problems. It has been there for a while. Social entrepreneurs today stand on the shoulders of people such as those behind the Aravind Eye Hospitals. You see, for decades entrepreneurs in India have been trying to solve social problems.
Now what's exciting is we are seeing tools like mechanisms of financing, more young people graduating from business schools deciding that they want to make it their career. People who have a long history in corporate sector are today using the tools they have gained in building organisations, to work for companies focused on the poor. That is an opportunity and we are seeing a groundswell starting to happen in India.
The millennials see a false divide between profit and society. They are beginning to look at building initiatives that are focused on sustainability. They don't want to work for corporations unless they see that it follows principles of sustainability. The millennials want a different world and they are looking to create mechanisms that will help build that. But I don't want the older generations to be off the hook, because I believe the older generations increasingly want to use their skills together, and they don't know where to do it. We need the skills of those individuals in their 40s or 70s who are looking for their next chapter to use all their wisdom, all their skills to give back to the society, not in a "charity function" way, but enable the poor to access services. That is the real opportunity for India today.
The opportunity today is not to relegate oneself to being a do-gooder or to make money. The opportunity today is to use your intellectual and spiritual energies to solve the biggest problems of our time. For those of us who want to be used up by the time we die — I certainly count myself among those — this is the best work you could do on earth. It's long, it's difficult, it can be extremely frustrating, and sometimes it can be lonely, which is why we need to build a sector that shows young people, particularly, that this is a very powerful long-term career opportunity.
In this scenario, what role does Acumen play in India?
India has the largest sector and people say it is chaotic. The truth is, its in formative stage, which is exciting. I think three things differentiate Acumen in India: One, our investment portfolio is specifically focused on the lowest income segment and plays a role in determining what it takes to build those market segments in the investment side.
Two, we have been investing in India from 2002, but had on-the-ground operation now based out of Mumbai since 2006. And we have got local teams lead by local advisers, local contributors like the Nilekanis, like G V Prasad. They can provide us support and technical assistance.
Third, in addition to investing in companies, we have invested in young leaders. We have got the Acumen Fellows programme in which we will bring out 20 new fellows from across India. They are entrepreneurs across all kinds of innovations and they are at the beginning. We want to support them as part of the ecosystem. Connected to that is to take ideas and insights from companies in which we have invested and share those ideas with a larger sector so that you see real leverage and we are seeing that in reports like the one we are just bringing out with Bain on Agricultural Adoption and two, how farmers adopt those innovations and inputs. Through Acumen Online courses, you will see 100,000 individuals signing up by the end of the year. They are taking these inputs and starting their new business. So, Acumen is part of the ecosystem. The future is all up to us and if we can dream it, we can build it.
