Acumen Fund Inc

ACUMEN'S MISSION IS TO CHANGE THE WAY THE WORLD TACKLES POVERTY BY INVESTING IN COMPANIES, LEADERS AND IDEAS.ACUMEN'S VISION IS THAT ONE DAY EVERY HUMAN BEING WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE CRITICAL GOODS AND SERVICES THEY NEED - INCLUDING AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE, CLEAN ENERGY, EDUCATION, WATER & SANITATION, HOUSING, ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND AGRICULTURAL INPUTS - SO THEY HAVE THE CHOICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFORM THEIR LIVES.

INVESTING AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT:ACUMEN FUND, INC. ("ACUMEN") INVESTS PATIENT CAPITAL IN BUSINESS MODELS THAT DELIVER CRITICAL, AFFORDABLE GOODS AND SERVICES TO THE WORLD'S POOR, IMPROVING THE LIVES OF MILLIONS. SINCE 2001, ACUMEN HAS INVESTED IN BUSINESSES THAT PROVIDE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, ENERGY, EDUCATION, WATER & SANITATION, HOUSING, FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND AGRICULTURAL SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS. OUR INVESTMENTS ARE ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS OF POVERTY IN EAST AND WEST AFRICA, SOUTH ASIA, LATIN AMERICA, AND THE UNITED STATES. ACUMEN INVESTED IN 16 NEW COMPANIES IN 2021, REACHING A CUMULATIVE $146 MILLION INVESTED IN 151 BUSINESSES SERVING THE POOR. [SEE CONTINUATION ON SCHEDULE O]ACUMEN ALSO EXITED FIVE COMPANIES RETURNING A TOTAL OF $1.6 MILLION.IN SEPTEMBER, THE ENERGY ACCESS RELIEF FUND ("EARF") WAS LAUNCHED. EARF IS A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND RELIEF FUND LAUNCHED WITH A FIRST CLOSE OF $68 MILLION AND A TARGET OF OVER $80 MILLION TO PROTECT ENERGY ACCESS FOR AT LEAST 20 MILLION PEOPLE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND ASIA. THE ENERGY ACCESS RELIEF FUND (EARF) IS THE CULMINATION OF AN UNPRECEDENTED PARTNERSHIP CONVENED BY ACUMEN, INCLUDING CDC GROUP, U.S. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION (DFC), FMO, GREEN CLIMATE FUND (GCF), SHELL FOUNDATION, IKEA FOUNDATION, THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION, WORLD BANK, INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION (IFC), SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY (SIDA), SWISS AGENCY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION (SDC), THE UK FOREIGN, COMMONWEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE (FCDO), USAID, AND POWER AFRICA. THE EARF, MANAGED BY SOCIAL INVESTMENT MANAGERS AND ADVISORS (SIMA), PROVIDES RELIEF CAPITAL IN THE FORM OF SHORT-TERM LOANS TO AN ESTIMATED 90 ENERGY ACCESS COMPANIES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND ASIA STILL STRUGGLING WITH DISRUPTIONS WROUGHT BY COVID-19.2021 WAS THE LAST YEAR OF ACUMEN'S 5-YEAR PIONEER ENERGY INVESTMENT INITIATIVE ("PEII"). FIVE YEARS AGO, PEII SET OUT TO EXPAND ENERGY ACCESS FOR THOSE LIVING IN LOW-INCOME REGIONS WITHOUT ELECTRIFICATION. TODAY, ACUMEN IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST INVESTOR IN OFF-GRID SOLAR.

FELLOWS AND LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS:IN 2021, ACUMEN ACADEMY MADE STRIDES IN DEVELOPING OUR CURRICULUM AND LEARNING PLATFORM: WE RAN NINE NEW FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS WITH 236 DIVERSE FELLOWS FROM COLOMBIA, THE UNITED KINGDOM, SPAIN, WEST AFRICA, EAST AFRICA, INDIA, PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH AND MALAYSIA; WE LAUNCHED THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION-ACUMEN FOOD SYSTEMS FELLOWSHIP WITH 1,056 APPLICATIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD; WE COMPLETED FOUR ACCELERATORS WITH 42 ORGANIZATIONS AND NINE SOCIAL SECTOR LEADERS. OUR GOAL IS TO CATALYZE INNOVATIVE BUSINESS MODELS THAT PROVIDE DIGNITY TO WORKERS WHILE FURTHERING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.

IMPACT AND COMMUNICATIONS:THE GOAL OF THE IMPACT AND COMMUNICATIONS TEAMS AT ACUMEN IS TO SUPPORT THE MISSION OF CHANGING THE WAY THE WORLD TACKLES POVERTY BY SHARING THE INSIGHTS FROM OUR WORK, PROMOTING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL, MARKETS-BASED APPROACH TO SOLVING POVERTY, AND SHIFTING PUBLIC PERCEPTION TO SEE THE POTENTIAL OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SOLUTIONS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF LOW-INCOME PEOPLE.IN Q1 2021, ACUMEN ADDED RESOURCES TO ITS IMPACT AND COMMUNICATIONS WORK TO ENHANCE ITS IMPACT MEASUREMENT AND INSIGHTS CONTENT GENERATION. [SEE CONTINUATION ON SCHEDULE O]RESOURCES INCLUDE A GLOBAL ENERGY SECTOR LEAD, A GLOBAL AGRICULTURE SECTOR LEAD, AND DEEPENING THE BENCH TO SUPPORT OUR IMPACT WORK.IN Q2 2021, ACUMEN EMBARKED ON A YEAR-LONG PROJECT TO STUDY AND ANALYZE THE SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES OF OUR PATIENT CAPITAL WORK OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS. THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE SHARED IN 2022.