Acumen Fund
- Partner network
- Bain & Company
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IKEA Foundation, Metlife Foundation, Unilever (have given $5,000,000+ each)
- World bank
- Dow Chemical Venture Fund
- International Finance Company
- LifeSpring Hospital
- Key activities
- INVEST IN BREAKTHROUGH COMPANIES
- DEVELOP LEADERS DISRUPTING POVERTY
- CREATE PLATFORMS (+Acumen) THAT DRIVE CHANGE
- Key resources
- Human capital
- Business strategies/planning expertise
- A network of people on the ground as mentors and advisors
- Financial capital
- Physical capital
- Infrastructure to move money and resources
- Offer
- Money/Investment
- Resources: strategies, a network of mentor and advisors, Training programs
- To improve the economy at the bottom end of the pyramid
- To create jobs through investment
- To offer what banks won’t, to small businesses
- Customer relationships
- Fund to Owner
- Fund to employees
- Advisors to employees/Owner
- Fund to NGOs
- Fund to World Bank
- Fund to Gov.
- Training Partners to students
- Distribution channels
- Support companies through access to expertise in their specific field
- Active, post-investment support in areas of governance, customer insights, and strategies
- Raise awareness of their goal through a focus on the social gain over monetary gain
- Invest donations instead of giving them away, turning philanthropy into investment capital
- Customer segments
- Creating value for companies through investments and area expertise for social enterprises
- Most important customers are early-stage companies providing a product or service to the poor across the areas of agriculture, education, energy, and healthcare
- Cost structure
- Patient capital is a debt or equity investment in a social enterprise
- Typical commitments for an enterprise range from $300,000 to $2,500,000
- This capital is in equity or debt with payback or exit in about 7-10 years
- Value-driven and focused on value creation, premium value proposition
- Pay in-house staff with expertise in the fields of Acumen’s current projects
- Pre-negotiated fees for this support are paid in full by investees using part of their investment capital from Acumen.
- Revenue streams
- Funds its capacity-building projects through a pool of grant capital
- Acumen sets aside 10% of its total raised capital for capacity-building support to fund in-house staff
- Portfolio companies access Acumen’s in-house resources free of charge, these services attract investment pipeline
- Have built relationships with high-quality consultants with pre-negotiated fees for this support are paid in full by investees using part of their investment capital.
SOURCES:
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-4166228
https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=12735717
https://thegiin.org/acumen-fund
https://www.bain.com/about/global-affiliations/acumen-partnership/