Dynamic David and Awesome Acumen

I am bummed to report that my colleague / boss, David Lehr (pictured above), will be returning to the U.S. soon. David has spent the last 8 months with Drishtee as part of the Acumen Fund Fellows Program, which places individuals with social enterprises all over the globe.

What is Acumen Fund? Acumen is a unique organization in NYC that was founded by Jacqueline Novogratz (also a Stanford Business School grad!). Acumen is a “non-profit venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty.” Simply put, they want to use business to end poverty. Acumen provides direct investment as well as business support (people like David) to budding social enterprises from Nairobi to Noida. For more on Acumen’s investment in Drishtee, click here.

This business doing good stuff is exciting, especially as I watch it happening here in India. Though I am a bit wary of big business, markets are being used to get good and services to communities that would not otherwise have access. Even the potential for profits makes everyone pay more attention. Like successful businesses, these approaches should be sustainable over time, thereby encouraging long-term economic development within communities. Of course, there are complications, especially because businesses tend to have a lot more power than the poor. Social entrepreneurs are trying to strike the right balance between making a profit and having a positive impact.

In addition to its noble pursuit, Acumen has attracted great people. Consider David’s story. After a few successful years in Silicon Valley, David made a dramatic career switch. Realizing that technology could be used in innovative ways to encourage development, he stepped off the fast track to work in social enterprise and international development. Like the other Acumen Fellows, he has spent the last year helping Drishtee develop its business and increase its impact. For more on David, check out this video interview. As for life after Drishtee, David is still figuring out what he will do next. Whatever happens, he is confident he will remain in this field because he, like me, believes that it has tremendous potential.