IN THE NEWS

Rice, maize, and soybean are pivotal grains in Nigeria. Cultivated all year round, they provide vital nutrition and protein, serving as the foundation of family diets. In states like Benue, often referred to as "the food basket of the nation," these crops thrive in abundance. During the wet season, fruits like oranges, mangoes, and guava flourish and nourish local farmers and their families. It’s a...

Why impact investors should focus on more than just the number of "lives impacted” by agriculture investments, embracing other forms of impact.  

Bali Devi is a 56-year-old woman living with a family of six in Jaipur, northern India. She is a widowed mother of two sons who runs a small makeshift shop in the front portion of her house. Her daughter-in-law makes a small earning by stitching sari borders for women in her locality. Both are part of the 90% of women who are not in the...

To achieve more meaningful impact, impact investors should not only focus on finding the next unicorn. We need to also invest in zebras, which “are real … are both black and white, striving for both profit AND purpose…are collaborative and feisty as they build businesses that are better for the world.”  

Apple today announced in its Newsroom a new partnership with Acumen to support social enterprises in India to improve livelihoods through clean energy innovation. Through the Energy for Livelihoods Accelerator, Acumen experts will lead a 12-week program designed to help social entrepreneurs scale and refine their businesses to transform the lives of people living in poverty, while also protecting the environment. This accelerator is part...

Globally, 733 million people still lack access to electricity. Although many will gain energy access in the coming years, research shows that, with a growing population, business-as-usual solutions will leave behind more than 600 million people by 2030, 85% of whom will be in Africa.  The off-grid solar sector can fill this gap. For over 15 years, Acumen has invested in energy entrepreneurs serving people...