Publication database

This article describes and ranks 10 lessons that Acumen has learned while working to tackle global poverty. The lessons learned include: 'dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth'; and that 'neither grants nor markets alone will solve the problems of poverty'.

This report provides discussions with eight agricultural development organisations: Technoserve, SNV, Farm Africa, Self Help Africa, One Acre Fund, Twin and Twin Trading, ACDI/VOCA, and FANRPAN, that are linking smallholder African farmers to markets. It shares the organisations' perspectives on the role of enterprise in future food security and nutrition; the experiences and challenges; and recommendations to G8 leaders on how to embed enterprise development and solutions more effectively into the post-2015 agenda.

This study focuses on characterising the availability, price and market penetration of electric off-grid lighting products in Kenya, based on a survey of retail vendors in three towns. It details key findings which include that LEDs continue to dominate the market, and that there are widespread quality problems for low-cost rechargeable torches.

This report investigates the demand for toilets in rural India, and the availability of quality and affordable products as well as financing for unlocking this demand. It proposes sanitation business models that could profitably deliver solutions that meet customer needs, and it highlights players in the sanitation ecosystem who could serve as the “market maker,” conducting market-building activities and creating an enabling environment for growth. It is a project output of 3SI, a 5-year project supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which aimed to develop scalable private-sector business models for the local sanitation market.

This report discusses the contribution of business to realising the Post-2015 agenda to eradicate extreme poverty. Through case examples, it illustrates the potential of cross-sector partnerships to advance both business impact and development outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. It provides five recommendations on how the Post-2015 process can help to promote and establish the architecture for a greater number, scale, and effectiveness of cross-sector partnerships.

This case study looks reviews a VECO chain development project in Vietnam, aiming to improve the quality of the tea by developing strong market linkages and collective actions, resulting in a better income for farmers.

This report provides an overview of the affordable housing market in Kenya; it is aimed at practitioners and investors who are looking to enter the affordable housing sector in the country or elsewhere. It describes the challenges that practitioners encounter and provides strategies to address them.

This article provides a collection of essays on the topic of 'accelerating entrepreneurship'. It includes lead essays 'Incubators Are Popping Up Like Wildflowers...' from Randall Kempner; 'A Systemic Approach to Accelerating Entrepreneurship' by Mary Walshok; and 'What Do Accelerators Do?' by Susan Cohen.

This case study explores SunnyMoney, a market-based initiative of SolarAid that seeks to eradicate kerosene lamps from Africa by 2020. It reviews the initiatives impact on children aged eight and under who are gaining access to a clean, good-quality source of solar lighting.

This report explores the importance of renewable energy for sustainable development in the Philippines and showcases renewable energy trends and policies in the region. The study also shows the engagement of GIZ and describes the support to the Climate Change Commission in the Implementation of the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change and the National Climate Change Action Plan (SupportCCC) Project as well as the Project Development Program Southeast Asia (PEP SOA) in the context of the “renewables - Made in Germany” initiative.