Africa Agenda: Press Releases: Acumen Fund Recruits Fellows Class of 2009

Friday, 12 September 2008

Acumen Fund, a social investment fund, is looking for 10 to 12 talented young professions for the 2009/2010 Acument Fellows Programme. The Acumen Fund Fellows programme is an annual programme that seeks to recruit and post to our investee companies 10-12 talented young professionals. Through the Fellows Programme, Acumen Fund provides an opportunity for young professionals to bring a range of management skills to our investee companies in South Asia and East Africa, introducing them to social investment, and supporting our investment mandate globally. We are now in the process of recruiting the Acumen Fund Fellows Class of 2009-2010. We are especially keen to see applicants from the African diaspora apply to this programme, as it gives our young professionals an opportunity to make a contribution to the development sphere, while introducing them to social investment and entrepreneurship. For more information, check out http://www.acumenfund.org/get-involved/fellows-program/become-a-fellow.html. Please note that the application deadline is October 20, 2008. Background About Acumen Fund Using the flexible capital of philanthropy  and the rigor of the marketplace, Acumen Fund invests in select enterprises with the potential to reach the poor on a large scale. We leverage our extensive networks, structure financial support, and provide intensive managerial and technical assistance. We adhere to a disciplined process in selecting and managing our philanthropic investments as well as in measuring and reporting the end results. Acumen Fund works with its investees to provide management expertise on the basic building blocks of business development. We currently apply our model of identifying and supporting social innovators in countries such as India, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. About Acumen Fund Fellows Programme Established in 2006, the Acumen Fund Fellows Programme is a 12-month fellowship for indviduals dedicated to serving the poor in the developing world and with the business, operational and professional skills needed to effect change. Though primarily based in South Asia and East Africa, the fellowship begins with a six-week orientation programme in the Acumen Fund New York office, during which the Fellows explore business models for the poor, build their personal networks, hone critical leadership skills and get to know the culture and people of Acumen Fund. After orientation, each Fellow works for an Acumen Fund investee on a critical business issue facing the organisation. Fellows have worked on projects ranging from marketing drip irrigation systems to expanding the clinic network of a pharmacy company to developing branding strategies for a microfinance institution in Pakistan. At the same time, the Fellows help meet Acumen Fund’s goal of developing knowledge about market-based approaches to poverty alleviation. The Fellows are trained to spend a portion of their time in the field documenting their experiences and creating business case studies, academic papers and documentary videos, which are then shared widely. Building transformative businesses that serve the poor requires a unique pool of talent with the skills, experience and moral imagination necessary to create long-lasting change. Acumen Fund has built its Fellows Programme to identify, train and cultivate the next generation of leaders in this mold. What is the Structure of the 2010 Fellows Program? Acumen Fund's year-long Fellowship for the Class of 2010 will begin in September 2009 with seven weeks of intensive and multidisciplinary leadership training in our New York City office. Training topics range from self reflection to negotiation and storytelling training to functional topics such as investment and valuation techniques and design, marketing and operations. The Fellows also meet with leaders from diverse as well as leading writers and thinkers and explore issues related to our investment geographies and sectors. Following training in New York, Fellows begin their ten-month field placements with Acumen Fund investees. Each Fellow is assigned to a specific investee to support senior management in tackling critical business issues - market expansion, business plan refinement, supply chain improvements, or even leading a new business initiative. Over the ten months spent with their investees, Fellows learn and apply skills while enjoying an unusual level of responsibility within our portfolio organizations. Halfway through the year, Fellows reconvene at the Skoll Forum for Social Entrepreneurship to reconnect with each other and with others in the field. At the end of these assignments, the Fellows return to New York City for a final three weeks in September 2010 to share experiences and lessons learned with Acumen Fund’s community, and to focus on their next steps. Who becomes a Fellow/what does AF look for in Fellows Applicants? Acumen Fund fellows are drawn from a pool of talented individuals from all geographies, sectors, backgrounds, religions, and ages. Ideal fellows include those who have already decided on a career in venture philanthropy, those who are seeking a career at the highest levels in the corporate world but want to better understand and impact problems of global poverty, and budding social entrepreneurs who want to learn about managing organizations in the most demanding settings. We are looking for individuals who can also quickly create impact at our investees and prefer those individual who have had management responsibility and experience working in ambiguous environments and preferably in the developing world. A graduate degree is preferred but not necessary. Share this article with others: Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Show/Hide comment form Name Email Title Comment smaller | bigger Subscribe via email (Registered users only) I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage. Add Comment