贫民窟奇迹：妓女华丽转身(视频)

About Jacqueline Novogratz

贾桂琳·诺芙格拉兹（Jacqueline Novogratz）是TED策办人克里斯·安德森的妻子，她多次在TED大会上发表演讲，主要是谈及扶贫这一议题。贾桂琳·诺芙格拉兹曾长时间在非洲工作，并且还是聪明人基金会（Acumen Fund）之创始人。她在2007年的TED非洲大会上重点论及了她对非洲的热爱以及对于人们简单化的讨论非洲问题的憎恨。 

Jacqueline Novogratz founded and leads Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that takes a businesslike approach to improving the lives of the poor. In her new book, The Blue Sweater, she tells stories from the new philanthropy, which emphasizes sustainable bottom-up solutions over traditional top-down aid.

Why you should listen to her: One of the most innovative players shaping philanthropy today, Jacqueline Novogratz is redefining the way problems of poverty can be solved around the world. Drawing on her past experience in banking, microfinance and traditional philanthropy, Novogratz has become a leading proponent for financing entrepreneurs and enterprises that can bring affordable clean water, housing and healthcare to poor people so that they no longer have to depend on the disappointing results and lack of accountability seen in traditional charity and old-fashioned aid.

The Acumen Fund, which she founded in 2001, has an ambitious plan: to create a blueprint for alleviating poverty using market-oriented approaches. Indeed, Acumen has more in common with a venture capital fund than a typical nonprofit. Rather than handing out grants, Acumen invests in fledgling companies and organizations that bring critical -- often life-altering -- products and services to the world's poor. Like VCs, Acumen offers not just money, but also infrastructure and management expertise. From drip-irrigation systems in India to malaria-preventing bed nets in Tanzania to a low-cost mortgage program in Pakistan, Acumen's portfolio offers important case studies forentrepreneurial efforts aimed at the vastly underserved market of those making less than $4/day.

It's a fascinating model that's shaken up philanthropy and investment communities alike. Acumen Fund manages more than $20 million in investments aimed at serving the poor. And most of their projects deliver stunning, inspiring results. Their success can be traced back to Novogratz herself, who possesses that rarest combination of business savvy and cultural sensitivity. In addition to seeking out sound business models, she places great importance on identifying solutions from within communities rather than imposing them from the outside. "People don't want handouts," Novogratz said at TEDGlobal 2005. "They want to make their own decisions, to solve their own problems."

In her new book, The Blue Sweater, she tells stories from the new philanthropy, which emphasizes sustainable bottom-up solutions over traditional top-down aid.
"Acumen Fund is a not-for-profit group (but not a charity) that is supported by investors (not donors) who want a good "social return" on their capital."