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Investing in Businesses That Invest in the Poor (2/2)
The Acumen Fund supports development in three areas: water, health and housing. In Tanzania, it helped a company get the knowledge and equipment needed to produce chemically treated bed nets. These protect against mosquitoes that spread malaria.
Today, A to Z Textile Mills is the third largest company in Tanzania. It has 5000 employees and produces about 7 million bed nets a year.
Jacqueline Novogratz, a social entrepreneur, launched the Acumen Fund in 2001. The Rockefeller Foundation, Cisco Systems Foundation and three individuals donated money to start it. Acumen has built a network of investors and experts. The fund now supervises about 20 million dollars in investments in six countries: Egypt, India, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa and Tanzania.
Spokeswoman Mariko Tada says Acumen is considering several new projects. Within months, it hopes to invest more than one million dollars in a Kenyan company that helps farmers grow Artemisia. The plant is used as a compound in the malaria drug artemisinin. And Acumen may invest in a private ambulance service in Mumbai, India.
