Acumen is one of the leading global non-profit venture funds and one of the few in the world that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. Since 2001, Acumen has invested more than $83 million of ‘patient capital’ in 75 enterprises touching 100 million low-income customers with a focus on education, healthcare, energy, housing, water and agriculture sectors. Acumen is increasingly changing the game of social development by shifting the focus from concepts like grants and bursaries to result-oriented investment philosophy. Acumen works on the simple rule of making social development profitable. Acumen’s portfolio companies have attracted four dollars of follow on investment for each dollar invested by Acumen. Once Acumen makes a successful exit, the proceeds are reinvested in other promising social ventures thus multiplying the impact of dollars donated by Acumen partners.
India represents Acumen’s largest portfolio with over $32 million invested in 26 companies and its work is supported by partners like the Dr Reddy’s Foundation, Rohini Nilekani and Akhil Gupta (Blackstone). Acumen sees India as a laboratory for social innovation with invested companies like Ziqitiza, Edubridge and Hippocampus to name a few.
The ‘Speed Pitching’ Session
Delhi+Acumen is organizing a ‘Speed Pitching Session’ in partnership with Startup Weekend Delhi at the American Center on the 26th of April, 2014.
The ‘Speed Pitching’ session will bring together speakers from various stakeholders in the social impact space – investors, entrepreneurs, public policy experts and government officials. The event will provide a platform to speakers from each interest group to propose two game changing socially relevant business ideas, one long term and another which is actionable today.
Speakers for the event include:
– Siddharth Dubey, Director of Operations at Brookings India
– Shailesh Singh, Partner at Seedfund
– Akhil Wable, Early architech of Facebook’s search platform and Dropbox
– Rajesh Swahney, Founder of Global Super Angels and Times Internet
– Padmaja Ruparel, President Indian Angel Network
– M R Madhavan, Co-founder & Head PRS Legislative Research
– Sanjay Gupta, CEO of English Helper and Ex-Head of American Express India
Acumen supported by the +Acumen chapters is changing the way the world tackles poverty by investing in companies, leaders and ideas.
For more on Acumen please visit, www.acumen.org ; to know about Delhi +Acumen please visit www.delhi.plusacumen.org and www.facebook.com/DELHIAcumen
ECONOMY DECODED IS PROUD TO PARTER WITH DELHI+ ACUMEN’s SPEED PITCHING
