Innovate
Acumen's Patient Capital
Lessons from 20 years of impact investing
Acumen's Patient Capital
You’ll learn
How entrepreneurial solutions can sustainably solve complex problems of poverty
How Acumen uses Patient Capital, a philanthropy-backed approach to impact investing, to support social entrepreneurs in increasing impact and achieving financial sustainability
Key lessons from Acumen’s 20 years of investing Patient Capital to serve more than 440M people across the globe
How to think like an impact investor who prioritizes impact and apply learnings in a “Deal or No Deal” exercise
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Course Syllabus
Welcome to the Course
Welcome
Course Logistics
Introduce Yourself
Introduction to Impact Investing and Patient Capital
Tackling Poverty
Impact Investing, Charity, and Commercial Investing
Investing Where It is Needed
Patient Capital: Prioritizing Impact to Solve Challenges
EthioChicken and the Role of Patient Capital
Investing for Impact
Global Conversation: Impact v/s Financial Returns
Lessons and Challenges of Patient Capital
An Overview of 20 Years of Patient Capital
Lesson #1: Listening to Customers’ Needs and Preferences
Lesson #2: We Cannot Expect Poor Customers to Bear All Costs
Lesson #3: We Can Build More Equitable Markets
Lesson #4: Understanding Risks
Lesson #5: Financially Sustainable Solutions to Poverty are Possible
Global Conversation: Acceptable Risks and Impact Goals
Deal or No Deal?
Introduction to “Deal or No Deal”
The Potential Investment
Your Turn: Deal or No Deal?
Global Conversation: Your Decision
The Reveal: Acumen’s Decision
"We firmly believe that impact investing as a sector can do better—if more funds allocate capital to where it is most needed, rather than to where it is safest.”
Jacqueline Novogratz,
Acumen Founder and CEO
Course Description
While there’s been explosive growth in capital and investors promising to “do well by doing good”, the world’s progress on critical problems remains slow. To solve our world’s greatest challenges, we need to push the boundaries of what is possible – fueled by the urgency of putting impact first while being grounded in the patience to see it through.
That’s where Patient Capital steps in.
Learn how Patient Capital, Acumen’s philanthropy-backed approach to impact investing, is a revolutionary approach to prioritizing impact. With 20 years of experience investing $115 million in 123 companies across the globe and enhancing more than 440 million lives, Acumen shares its successes, challenges, and key lessons learned.
You’ll walk away with insights on how to deploy capital creatively to invest where it is needed — not merely where it is safe.
The content draws from Acumen’s Patient Capital Report, which we recommend diving into after this course to learn more.
Featured
Amrita Bhandari
Chief of Insights and Strategy, Acumen
Daniel Waldron
Head of Insights, Acumen
Featured
Amrita Bhandari
Chief of Insights and Strategy, Acumen
Daniel Waldron
Head of Insights, Acumen
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