My work in Africa taught me about the extraordinary resilience of people for whom poverty is a reality not because they don't work hard, but because there are too many obstacles in their way.
To address poverty in a more insightful way, in 2001 I started a nonprofit organization called Acumen Fund. We raise charitablefunds, but instead of just using money for giveaways, we make careful investments in entrepreneurs who are willing to take on some of the world's toughest challenges...like health care, safe water, housing, and alternative energy.
We measure our results in social as well as financial terms and share lessons and insights learned with the greater world.
We've seen what can happen when an entrepreneur views the market as a listening device that reveals how to tailor services and products to the preferences of low-income people who are viewes as consumers, not victims.
...we can end poverty. Never before in history have we had the skills, resources, technologies, and imagination to solve poverty that we do now...fundamental change is possible in a single generation.
Today, poor people the world over are seeking opportunity and choice to have greater dignity in their lives— and they want to so it themselves, even if they need a little help. Today we have the tools and technologies to bring real opportunities to people all across the world.
The time has come to extend to every person on the planet the fundamental principle that we hold so dear: that all human beings are created equal. Rather than seeing the world as divided among different civilizations or classes, our collective future rests upon our embracing a vision of a single world in which we are all connected. Indeed, maybe this notion of human connection is the most important— and complex— challenge of our time. Market play a role in this vision, and so does public policy. So does philanthropy. We all play a role in the change we need to create.
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