Category: Uncategorized

More than 3 billion people worldwide own an indoor cookstove. Each year, smoke from these stoves kills more than 2 million people, mostly women.

In a nation of 200 million where nearly three-quarters of the population lives on less than $2 per day, how do you begin to imagine equitable solutions to education?

Acumen has invested in Level, a business that offers affordable and accessible financial services to help independent contractors expand their work and build wealth. THE CHALLENGE: INACCESSIBLE FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES The U.S. workforce is rapidly changing with approximately 57 million people working independently. However, financial infrastructure has not adapted to their volatile earnings. There … Continued

THE CHALLENGE: EXPENSIVE DIESEL GENERATORS Due to limited and unreliable grid electricity, two thirds of electricity in Nigeria is provided by expensive diesel and petrol generator sets. Relying on petrol generators costs off-grid microbusiness owners—such as vendors in rural marketplaces—up to 50 percent of their revenue. In between breakdowns, these generators only provide an average … Continued

In November, Acumen hosted TEDxAcumen in connection with TED Countdown, a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The goal of TEDxAcumen was to amplify the intersection of poverty and climate change and to highlight the need for investment in adaptation and resilience–along with mitigation. The event brought together more than … Continued

Acumen has invested in Reema whose platform helps support patients in accessing care and other resources that impact social determinants of health. THE CHALLENGE: LACK OF ACCESS TO SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH Medicaid provides health care to low-income Americans, but many Medicaid members struggle with health care access and other social and environmental challenges that … Continued

Acumen India has invested in S4S Technologies, a company whose solar-powered drying machines are increasing smallholder farmers’ incomes while reducing food waste. THE CHALLENGE: WASTED CROPS In India, smallholder farmers’ incomes depend not only on the amount of crops they have to sell but also their “grade”: a quality rating determined by aesthetic criteria like … Continued

Acumen has invested in Kheyti, a company whose greenhouses help farmers in India adapt to the effects of climate change. THE CHALLENGE: CLIMATE CHANGE DESTROYING FARMER CROPS About 70 percent of families in rural India—most of whom own less than five acres of land and earn less than $3 per day—depend on farming for their … Continued