We raise charitable donations that allow us to make patient long-term debt or equity investments in early-stage companies providing reliable and affordable access to agricultural inputs and markets, quality education, clean energy, healthcare services, formal housing, and safe drinking water to low-income customers.
The markets alone cannot solve the problems of poverty; nor are charity and aid enough to tackle the challenges faced by over two-thirds of the world’s population living in poverty. Patient capital is a third way that seeks to bridge the gap between the efficiency and scale of market-based approaches and the social impact of pure philanthropy.
For Acumen, patient capital is understood as a debt or equity investment in an early-stage enterprise providing low-income consumers with access to healthcare, water, housing, alternative energy, or agricultural inputs. Our typical commitments of patient capital for an enterprise range from $250,000 to $3,000,000 in equity or debt with payback or exit in roughly seven to ten years.
The patient capital Acumen provides is accompanied by a wide range of management support services nurturing the company to scale. Our aim in investing patient capital is not to seek high returns, but rather to jump-start the creation of enterprises that improve the ability of the poor to live with dignity.
We invest in game-changing companies that are transforming the way the world tackles poverty. To us, that means identifying enterprises that meet the following criteria:
As a global organization with offices in multiple jurisdictions, Acumen’s Portfolio team operates as a partnership that shares knowledge, insights, and experiences across its team members.
Potential investments are identified through business plan submissions, referrals, or proactive research by our Portfolio team members. All investments go through an Initial Due Diligence process in which the potential investment opportunity is vetted and discussed by senior members of Acumen’s Portfolio Leadership Team (PLT). For those investments that pass the initial deliberation stage, the team conducts a rigorous Formal Due Diligence process which entails a review of the promoter/enterprise in the general areas of (1) social impact, (2) financial viability, (3) operations, (4) management, (5) accounting and (6) legal. Investment opportunities are then presented to the Investment Committee, which is responsible for leading a final discussion on the critical issues of the potential transaction and ultimately responsible for approval or rejection of investment opportunities.
Our investment decisions are strongly guided by our investment principles. These include keeping the following at the forefront of our decision making:
