Social Entrepreneurship Through CSR

People sometimes see Acumen raising large amounts of commercial capital and assume we no longer need philanthropy. No sooner had we announced $250M for our Hardest-to-Reach fund — to bring off-grid light and electricity to 70 million people across 17 of Africa’s most challenging markets — than some concluded Acumen must be set. In fact, the opposite is true. First, let me acknowledge how tough this fundraising environment is. I couldn’t be prouder of the team and partners who made our Hardest-to-Reach announcement possible after 2.5 years of relentless effort. And yet it’s worth underscoring: none of this would have been possible without philanthropy. Philanthropy is the first mover. It allows us to place early bets in fragile markets like Malawi and Benin, cover the development costs needed to structure and raise investment across the capital spectrum and provide the technical assistance that builds capacity. To put a finer point on it: of the nearly $250M raised for Hardest-to-Reach, more than $80M is philanthropic. That risk-taking anchor made it possible to prove new models — and ultimately unlock institutional investment. During Climate Week last month, I met philanthropists who see this as the time to pivot from grantmaking toward impact investing. While I understand the instinct, I want to offer a reframing: it’s not either/or. If you want your capital to have lasting impact, there may be no better use than catalytic philanthropy — especially when deployed through blended finance models like Hardest-to-Reach. Philanthropy cannot see itself at the margins. It is catalytic capital — risk-taking, patient, and unabashedly impact-first — creating the conditions for commercial capital to follow. And it's more important now than ever as traditional aid shrinks and many governments shift from grants to investment approaches. At Acumen, philanthropy from donors at all levels remains our bedrock. It enables us to reach the hardest-to-reach, build inclusive markets where none exist, and keep social impact at the center of everything we do. And because solving problems of poverty is Acumen’s mission, raising philanthropic capital will remain essential to our work.

Lacoste broke an 89-year tradition, For a reason a lot of brands avoid: To make a bold and purpose-driven statement using their product.  They replaced their iconic crocodile logo with 10 endangered species. Each shirt was limited to the number of animals left in the wild. - 30 shirts for the Vaquita porpoise   - 350 for the Sumatran tiger - 450 for the Anegada rock iguana The campaign sold out in hours and generated considerable brand lift. More so than any traditional product launch they've done. Here's why it worked (and what it means for brand building): As humans, we're wired to worry when something's running out. But most brands exploit that by saying "Only 3 left" or "Sale ends tonight." Lacoste turned the idea of scarcity on its head to make a statement. The 30 shirts doesn't just represent a limited edition run for the product. It symbolizes the 30 very real Vaquita porpoises that exist in the wild. By connecting that cause to their brand,  Lacoste created a collective purpose that people wanted to support. For large brands, this is a lesson in conscious marketing they can emulate. For smaller brands, this is something to aspire to later on. Lacoste could only pull this off because it already had the brand equity. So, if you're thinking about a purpose-driven campaign, ask yourself: Can we pull this off at our current level of brand equity? If you're not there yet, this type of campaign won't land the way you want. Here's the sequence if you are: ✅ Find a cause that aligns with your brand truth (not what's trending) ✅ Build the constraint into the product (make the limitation tell the story) ✅ Create a mechanism where the purchase is the message ✅ Measure brand perception over years, not campaign metrics over weeks If you're not in a position where a big campaign will make a real impact, start smaller and closer to home. Try local partnerships, transparent sourcing, and donation matching. Build the credibility first, then build the campaign. Purpose-driven work only works when people already believe in your brand. Ready to add $1m/month to your eComm business?  Join the waitlist: https://lnkd.in/e-Av-tdY What do you think of Lacoste’s campaign?  Share it in the comments below. ♻️ Repost to share this fundamental lesson with your network.  Follow Nehal Kazim for more advertising insights like this.

What if philanthropy funded African entrepreneurs, not just NGOs? For decades, philanthropic capital in Africa has flowed primarily through nonprofit channels. But what if we expanded the lens? What if we recognized that entrepreneurship is impact and that investing in businesses can be just as transformative as funding charities? Because here’s what the data shows: 📊 Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up over 80% of employment in Africa, yet they receive less than 10% of philanthropic or donor capital. (Source: IFC, African Development Bank) Now consider this: A bakery that hires 12 women is solving poverty. A solar startup reducing blackouts is improving health outcomes. A logistics company like Cloudy Deliveries is restoring dignity, mobility, and economic agency in townships. These aren't side stories. They’re frontline solutions. And in many cases, they’re achieving what NGOs alone cannot - sustainability, scale, and systems change. To be clear: NGOs remain essential. But we must stop seeing them as the only vessels for doing good. Because impact isn’t defined by tax status. It’s defined by outcomes. And if the outcome is more jobs, local ownership, dignity, and upward mobility - shouldn't that be worth funding? Yes, there are regulatory and risk constraints. But more philanthropic leaders are experimenting with: Recoverable grants Hybrid finance models Catalytic capital Equity investments in social ventures Imagine if philanthropy didn’t just react to problems, but invested in African builders. Not just donors funding projects but partners backing enterprises designed in and for the communities they serve. This is the shift from charity to co-creation. From aid to agency. From dependency to shared ownership of the future. So ask yourself: What African entrepreneur do you know who’s creating real, measurable social impact? Tag them. Celebrate them. And if you're a funder or advisor, consider this: What’s stopping you from backing one today?

ESG Criteria Framework 🌍 Using ESG as a lens for decision making helps companies structure how sustainability considerations are integrated into strategy and operations. It connects environmental, social, and governance priorities with the way risks and opportunities are managed. The Environmental dimension focuses on how organizations manage their interaction with natural systems. It looks at efficiency, emissions reduction, and minimizing ecological impacts across the value chain. Metrics such as greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy share, water recycling rates, waste diversion, and biodiversity indicators provide measurable insights into environmental performance. Decision makers can ask whether targets are aligned with science based approaches, whether energy sourcing is low carbon, and whether biodiversity impacts are assessed and managed. These questions link sustainability to business planning. Actions such as upgrading facilities for energy efficiency, adopting circular product design, and collaborating on ecosystem restoration make environmental priorities operational. The Social dimension evaluates how companies manage relationships with employees, customers, suppliers, and communities. It emphasizes fairness, safety, inclusion, and wider societal contribution. Metrics including diversity ratios, pay equity, training hours, safety records, and customer trust scores give visibility into how people are impacted by corporate activity. Questions include whether hiring and promotion practices are equitable, whether safety systems are effective, and how the company contributes to community well being. These guide decisions with a social perspective. Actions range from structured DEI initiatives and expanded safety programs to leadership training and measurable community investment plans. The Governance dimension covers the structures and practices that ensure accountability, transparency, and ethical decision making. It provides the foundation for integrating sustainability into oversight and risk management. Metrics such as board diversity, ESG risk integration, disclosure assurance, and shareholder participation help assess governance alignment with long term objectives. Actions include embedding ESG oversight at board level, conducting independent ethics audits, integrating ESG into enterprise risk management, and strengthening shareholder engagement. By combining metrics, guiding questions, and concrete actions, this framework illustrates how companies can apply ESG as a decision making tool to advance sustainability in a structured and practical way. #sustainability #business #sustainable #esg

I am convinced that profit is not an end in itself, it’s a means to create positive value for our ecosystem. Consequently, the role of finance is not only to create value with profits, but also, and most importantly to encompass human, social and environmental value in our decisions. You can no longer measure a company’s performance just by looking through the financial lens, you would be missing a lot. Thinking in terms of value creation brings a more holistic view on the way we perform and how we can have a positive impact by creating and sharing value with all our stakeholders. For this fourth episode of our ‘Value Creation Talks’, I had the great pleasure of discussing with Veronika Pountcheva, Board member of International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), Co-CEO of NX Food and Former Corporate Responsibility Executive at Metro AG, on how finance is shifting the way we do business, for a better future. I am very pleased to share with you the first capsule with her and I hope you will enjoy it. 

When I took on my role as Chief Corporate Citizenship Officer at PMI, I set a handful of parameters for myself and my team: 1. Don’t fall into the trap of arm’s-length checkbook philanthropy: One-off cash infusions can help nonprofits in the immediate term, but they don’t get at the issue of sustainable growth. 2. Focus, focus, focus: Diffusion is the enemy of progress. There are an endless number of worthy causes and charitable organizations, but our greatest impact will come from identifying a small number of causes that are intrinsically tied to our values and vision and making those causes priorities. (In our case, this is U.S. military veterans, women’s equity and empowerment, and hyperlocal activations.) 3. Empower—and learn from—those already in the trenches: We’re not going to dictate what happens at the community level. We’re here to listen and learn and find ways to support and expand the good works already underway. 4. Give a “hand up” instead of a handout: Band-Aid solutions may make us feel good in the short term, but they don’t get to the root problem. The cash infusions we give our community-based partners are meaningful, but their value grows exponentially when paired with our business expertise and insights. 5. Offer employees a chance to contribute to change: We polled PMI’s U.S. workforce earlier this year about our plans to support military veterans. An astonishing 97 percent of employees raised their hands to get involved. There’s a hunger out there for making a positive difference in local communities and the broader world. Find ways to connect your people to the issues that matter most to them. It turns out that this is the way the next generation of philanthropists is thinking about their impact as well. A recent article (I’ll share the link in comments) shares interesting insights into how our younger generations—millennials and Gen Z—are embracing a more comprehensive approach to philanthropy focused on measurable impact and deeper connections. They’re also showing a greater tolerance for the “long game,” willing to take risks in the short term to lay the groundwork for greater gains down the road. As the next generation of philanthropists takes the reins and starts investing more than money in the causes they care about, let’s make sure our organizations are prepared to do the same.

Corporate volunteering has become the new office plant. Something companies put in the corner, water once a year, and point to when visitors ask about their "culture." A checkbox. A photo-op. A day when employees paint walls at an NGO, post group selfies with hashtags, and return to their desks feeling momentarily better about their 60-hour workweeks. But here's what we're missing: volunteering was never meant to be an event. It was meant to be a practice. The companies that understand this difference are quietly transforming from the inside out. They're not just organizing annual drives where employees show up, distribute food packets, and leave. They're embedding service into their organizational DNA. Making it rhythmic. Consistent. Expected. And the results are startling. When volunteering shifts from a calendar event to a cultural cornerstone, something changes in the air. People start seeing each other differently. The marketing guy who seems standoffish in meetings shows unexpected gentleness with elderly residents. The quiet developer who barely speaks in standups emerges as a natural leader when teaching coding to underprivileged kids. Masks fall. Hierarchies soften. Connections deepen. This isn't just feel-good corporate speak. The data backs it up. Companies with sustained volunteering programs report 26% higher employee engagement scores. Their retention rates climb. Their employer brand strengthens. Not because they're doing more CSR, but because they're creating more meaning. The truth is, humans are wired for purpose beyond paychecks. We can pretend all we want that competitive salaries and fancy titles are enough. But at 2 AM, when the spreadsheet blurs and the deadline looms, it's not the compensation package that keeps us going. It's knowing that our work connects to something larger than quarterly targets. Volunteering bridges that gap. Not the performative kind that happens once a year. But the consistent kind that becomes part of how you operate. Daan Utsav, India's week of giving, offers the perfect starting point. Seven days when the entire nation turns toward service. But the smartest companies don't stop there. They use those seven days to build momentum for the other 358. They create volunteering rhythms - monthly, quarterly, ongoing. They measure impact beyond hours spent. They celebrate the quiet heroes who show up consistently, not just the executives who show up for the photo. Most importantly, they understand that volunteering isn't just something nice companies do. It's something transformative companies become. Because when service moves from your calendar to your culture, you don't just change communities. You change yourself. And that's when corporate volunteering stops being a plant in the corner and becomes the soil everything else grows from. ps - enjoyed using nano banana (Sundar's tool) to make an image of him volunteering!

This is an excellent read from Stanford & BCI around Communicating Sustainability as Value Creation 💰 In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, “value” is central to every sustainability conversation. While this is written in the context of private equity, it is relevant to all businesses. The research demonstrates that integrating ESG factors into business strategy can directly enhance enterprise value. It moves beyond rhetoric, showing how sustainability-linked actions—like a “driver-first” culture in logistics—improve retention, safety, efficiency, and ultimately, financial outcomes. In the cited example, these initiatives led to a $144 million increase in enterprise value, with clear links to EBITDA and competitive advantage. Key Takeaways: 🌟 Sustainability is a lever for growth and resilience, not just risk mitigation. 🌟 Value creation should be at the heart of sustainability communications. 🌟 Frame ESG initiatives in terms of their impact on profitability, risk reduction, and strategic positioning. 🌟 Use clear, quantified examples. 🌟 Share stories and data that demonstrate how sustainability drives financial results—just as the logistics case study does. 🌟 Avoid compliance-only language. 🌟 Position sustainability as integral to business strategy, not as an external obligation. Practical Steps for Sharpening Communication: 1. Link sustainability initiatives to financial KPIs (e.g., EBITDA, margin improvement, cost savings). 2. Highlight operational improvements and competitive differentiation. 3. Tailor messages to your audience—investors, employees, customers—using sector-relevant examples. 4. Build conviction through data and real-world case studies, not just aspirational statements. Bottom line: Whether in private equity or any other sector, the ethos of value creation through sustainability is universally relevant. By communicating sustainability as a source of financial and strategic advantage, companies can inspire action, build stakeholder trust, and drive lasting impact.

The rural health care ecosystem is fragile, and we are starting to better understand the devastating impacts the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would have on rural communities, specifically. We know that Medicaid plays an outsized role in rural communities, covering a larger share of children and adults than in urban communities. In fact, nearly half of all children and 1 in 5 adults living in rural communities rely on Medicaid or CHIP for their health insurance. According to a recent analysis conducted by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, over 1.5 million rural residents (1 in 10 of currently covered individuals) would lose their health care coverage through proposed changes to Medicaid. Proposed changes to the Marketplace plans would only add to the coverage losses for rural communities. Combined, these proposed changes would have a negative impact on millions of people in states like Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Maine, North Carolina and others.  What hasn't been well understood until today, is what are the economic impacts of physicians leaving rural communities. New analysis from the Robert Graham Center finds that the loss of a rural primary care physician results in an average $1,348 increase in health care expenditures for each rural patient. Meaning that the health care costs for a family of four will be $5,000 higher than they would be if a family physician was in the community. Preserving rural hospitals is important, but PRESERVING RURAL FAMILY PHYSICIANS IS A HEALTH CARE AND ECONOMIC IMPERATIVE.

After nearly 3 years in the Impact space, in this article I attempt to unpack the core hypotheses driving today’s new age Philanthropic trends. You will be amazed to know how much modern giving looks and feels like Venture Capital. Due-diligence decks, runway forecasts, even “follow-on” rounds, just swap founders for frontline NGOs/Implementation Agencies and the workflow is the same. The key shift is in the yardstick: investors talk ROI, while donors chase SROI (Social Return On Investment) that counts lives changed, not just dollars back. Inside, Hardik and I unpack how blended finance, cost-per-impact models, and AI tools are letting us track that SROI with start-up precision. Give it a read and let us know where you see capital and compassion meeting next.