News & resources for social entrepreneurs
The Acumen Fund Fellows Program is a program of the Acumen Fund that is designed to train the next generation of social sector leaders. The program selects 10 individuals annually and is open to applicants from around the world. The application deadline for the 2011-2012 class of fellows is November 15, 2010. For more information:
A brief note — November 12, 2009 is the application deadline for the 2010-2011 Acumen Fund Fellows Program. Acumen Fund is a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. Its fellows program provides training to young professionals who in turn provide suport to Acumen Fund investees.
You can learn more about applying for the Acumen Fund Fellows Program here. An overview video on Acumen Fund is provided below.
Fast Company announced its "Social Enterprises of the Year" in its December 2008/January 2009 issue in which they highlighted projects at the following 10 organizations:
D.light Design, a New Delhi, India-based social enterprise that is developing lighting solutions to replace the use of kerosene lanterns by families who don't have adequate electricity, announced earlier this month that it secured $6 million in Series A financing. This financing was led by Nexus India Capital and included participation from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Garage Technology Ventures, the Mahindra Group, and social funds Acumen Fund and Gray Matters Capital.
D.light Design's mission is to replace every kerosene lantern in the world to provide everyone access to a basic human need: safe and bright light. By 2017, the company is aiming to have improved the lives of 150 million individuals. The following interview of D.light Design CEO Sam Goldman provides some additional background on the company:
D.light introduced its first lighting products earlier this year. The company's products are being sold in India and Africa, with market tests ongoing throughout the world. One of these products – the Nova – is shown below. It can be charged via AC or solar power (click the image for additional product information).
"D.light has a mission to eliminate kerosene lamps in our villages by providing high quality solar-based solutions at price points significantly below comparable products," said Sandeep Singhal, Partner at Nexus India Capital. "The productivity improvement from their solution is huge and we are very excited to be backing a team that has the commitment and leadership to fulfill this mission."
"We are delighted to receive the financial support of such a renowned team of investors. This is a high vote of confidence in our products and our business model," said D.light Design CEO Sam Goldman. "We look forward to better serving the millions of households who deserve and aspire for an increasingly higher quality of life – with greater economic and educational opportunities – that modern lighting provides."
For more information: