Jacqueline Novogratz
Jacqueline Novogratz
Jacqueline Novogratz is an American entrepreneur and author. She is the founder and CEO of Acumen, a non-profit global venture capital fund whose goal is to use entrepreneurial approaches to address global poverty. Acumen has invested over $90 million of patient capital in 80 businesses that have impacted more than 125 million people in the past year. Any money returned to Acumen is reinvested in enterprises serving the poor. Currently, Acumen has offices in New York, Mumbai, Karachi, Nairobi, and...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinesswoman
CountryUnited States of America
People need to believe that they can participate fully in the decisions that affect their lives and have a stake in the societies in which they live
What would the world look like if we asked ourselves the following more often; are our actions helping others find a way to feel more freer, more dignified and more beautiful?
There is power in creating a small model, and then you can create an alliance of other small models.
One of the first things that surprised me in a positive, wonderfully positive way, is that this works - patient capital works.
Philanthropy is no longer about writing a check for $10,000 to the opera.
Acumen Fund's patient capital investment in Western Seed is intended to enhance the food security and economic independence of Kenya's smallholder farmers.
For too much of history, we've viewed the world's precious resources - both environmental and human - as things to extract, to make the most of in order to maximize their potential.
By going from the bottom-up again, we see where successes work, and you can also see where the status quo can be the biggest obstacle or roadblock to success. The kind of entrepreneurs in whom we need to invest are the kind who are willing to fight that status quo, bureaucracy, complacency, and corruption.
Human beings tend not to spend money on health preventionally. We tend to spend it on top treatment.
I have seen that traditional approaches to charity and aid don't solve problems of poverty. In fact, too often they create dependence.
Freedom is what beauty feels like when it can most express itself.
If you're looking at distributing alternative energy in Nigeria, for instance, what gets in your way is not people's ability to pay, not people's desire for a clean solar lamps or biomass opportunities. But there is a strong status quo that really depends on selling diesel.
People have to understand that unless social enterprise is experimental, it will not succeed in making a difference.
I believe the government should ensure all children are provided with a good education.