Lesson One. At the heart of the work of fighting poverty is something deeper. It comes with the understanding that the opposite of poverty is not income. The opposite of poverty is dignity. Dignity is freedom. It is choice. Dignity is the most fundamental of our yearnings — to be seen, to be counted, to be free. It is this indomitable spirit that binds us as human beings—and that is most fundamental to our humanity.
Lesson Two. We will not solve the problems of poverty simply by pouring money on them. Nor can we sit back and let markets take their course. Acumen was founded on the idea that between pure philanthropy and pure capitalism there is a better way to tackle poverty, a third way. We call it “patient capital” and it recognizes that, when it comes to solving tough problems, neither markets nor aid alone are enough.
Lesson Three. When we look past labels of what is often defined as “poverty,” we see people not as individuals with a series of problems to be solved, but as a full human beings. That’s why we focus on serving “customers” — people, just like us, who wish to create their own agency and choice. To us, “poverty” describes your income, not your identity.
Lesson Four. We won’t succeed in the long term without cultivating local leaders and local communities committed to working together and building sustainable solutions. We’ve built strong teams in the countries we work with the support, intellect and full investment of business and thought leaders. By thinking local and acting local, we can create innovative solutions that work with and for the people we aim to serve.
Lesson Five. When it comes to tackling poverty, there are no silver bullets. In addition to investing, we must build new systems and infrastructures that work for all of us, not just some of us. It means seeing investment as a means, not an end in itself. It means cultivating fellowship and celebrating moral heroes, blazing new trails and demanding transparency every step of the way. To truly grow and scale solutions, capital alone isn’t enough.
Lesson Six. No matter how great a new product or service is for the poor, it almost never sells itself. People buy things they understand — they don’t buy technologies alone. That’s why innovations in delivery, partnerships with distributors and the right economic incentives are critical. No matter how exciting an invention or elegant the design, the business model has to function in the real world.
Lesson Seven. We make big bets on innovative business models and often untested entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Sometimes we come up short, and that’s all right. If you never fail, you’re not taking enough of a risk. And when you fail and learn in a real and honest way, you will inevitably find your way to better understanding, and thus better solutions.
Lesson Eight. Solving the world’s toughest problems requires all of us working together as part of an ecosystem that includes government, the private sector and all players across society. We learn from each other and, with partners like Unilever, GE, IKEA, Ernst & Young, American Express and Bain to name a few, we are scaling the impact of more inclusive business models to build a more equitable world.
Lesson Nine. An Acumen investee gave a woman who sold samosas on the street a free solar lantern to use in her stall for a month to test it out. At the end of the month, she said she loved the lamp: it allowed her to save money by avoiding kerosene, earn more by staying open later, and have a light to walk home safely. Still, she refused to buy the light when offered, saying she couldn’t be sure of the product’s quality. There is no currency like trust, and there are no shortcuts to earning it.
Lesson Ten. We cannot wait for leaders to save us. After 15 years of forging new paths to tackling poverty, we’ve come to realize that we are the leaders we are waiting for. The moral leaders of today recognize that we have an enormous opportunity — an opportunity no other generation has had — to extend the fundamental assumption that all are born equal to every human being on the planet. For if not us, then who? If not now, then when?
