Millions of people around the world earn less than $4 a day, which makes it difficult for them to gain adequate access to health care, housing, and clean water. The nonprofit global venture fund Acumen attempts to help those who make up the bottom two-thirds of the global economy by utilizing the philosophy that markets are a critical part of the solution to poverty.

In this lecture at Stanford's Center for Social Innovation, Yasmina Zaidman, a portfolio manager at Acumen, explains how her organization uses philanthropic investment to support entrepreneurs in creating companies whose products, services, and presence in local communities enhance social well-being for consumers and employees alike. She discusses how Acumen secures financing and provides business guidance to such enterprises, thereby enabling them to provide return to investors and added value to customers.

The company is currently overseeing some 20 projects in countries such as India, Pakistan, Uganda, and Tanzania. Zaidman describes the due diligence Acumen conducts to evaluate ventures, as well as specific types of assistance the firm gives to budding entrepreneurs and management teams, including metrics and management assistance.

Zaidman discusses some of the firm's success stories, particularly in East Africa, and talks about Acumen's goals for securing further funding and achieving scale. She also addresses some of the challenges associated with such work.

She relates that for Acumen, success means helping create companies that are financially self-sustaining, scalable, have the potential to grow, and are ultimately poised to raise capital from other sources. Zaidman and her colleagues find personal meaning in promoting an approach to poverty based on supporting the dignity of those they serve.