09.19.11
The Editors | Miscellaneous

10 Things Acumen Fund Has Learned About Tackling Global Poverty


Saliban, an Acumen Fund housing investee in Pakistan

Acumen Fund, the New York-based organization that invests in social enterprises in disadvantaged parts of the world, is marking its 10th anniversary with a new website. Designed by MSDS (and the new gateway designed by Hyperakt), the freshly relaunched www.acumen.org articulates the group's mission and accomplishments while serving as a platform for a dialogue about social innovation.

Crystallizing a decade of experience, www.acumenfund.org features an essay called "10 Things We've Learned to Be True About Tackling Global Poverty."

In abbreviated form, those lessons are:
1. Dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth.
2. Neither grants nor markets alone will solve the problems of poverty.
3. Poverty is a description of someone’s economic situation; it does not describe who someone is.
4. We won’t succeed in the long term without cultivating local leaders, local money, and strong local communities.
5. Great people, every time, no exceptions.
6. Great technology alone is not the answer.
7. If failing is not an option, you’ve ruled out success as well.
8. Governments rarely invent solutions, but they can scale what works.
9. There is no currency like trust, and there are no shortcuts to earning it.
10. Patient capital investing is built upon a system of values; it is not a series of steps to be followed.

The site offers an expanded discussion of these tenets. Over the next weeks, each lesson will also serve as a springboard for commentary on Acumen Fund's blog. It's begun with founder and CEO Jacqueline Novogratz's response to #1.




Comments [5]

Poverty means that they are fundamentally needs some element but they are not getting. Poverty menaces no shelter, no home, no good food, and no good drinking water. Generally Africa, Afghanistan, Bangladesh these nation are facing fatal poverty problem. It is major attraction for human resource development, International organization.
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james davis
03.12.12
05:27

Acumen Fund has presented a very clear and to the point lessons. Poverty has been a great challenge in the development of any country and day by day it is getting very challenging to deal with it.
The points discussed, can really make a difference if they are acted upon properly and government implies them.
james
06.13.12
09:49

To solve the problems of poverty every countries government should take some beneficial steps towards the subject, and also some non profitable organization like Acumen Fund which are also work for these solution so through these funds and organization websites many social works for poor people are done to recover from this poverty challenge.
rogerbilly553
06.18.12
03:57

To reduce the effect of global poverty most of the countries are liable to apply many advanced features and policies in their country which ultimately helps to reduce the effects of poverty which seems to be one of the most biggest challenges for any country, therefore Acumen Fund one of the non profit organization which delivers some socialization work and towards the society for removing these types of huddles.

Mike Watson
Watson019
06.18.12
08:09

Thats a wonderful post on Tackling Global Poverty. Poverty cannot be eradicated unless we take specific measures and work upon them with all our efforts. All the 10 points mentioned here are very true and should be considered in our fight against poverty.
juliet sarah
09.10.12
12:57


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