Patient Capital: A New Asset Class summarizes the emergence of a new type of investing called "patient capital" that provides financing to businesses serving low-income populations in emerging markets. It discusses how early organizations in the 1980s and 1990s like Root Capital and SEAF laid the groundwork for this new asset class. More recently, funds like Acumen have led the way in providing multi-year financing that allows these innovative businesses to grow and scale while also achieving social goals like access to energy, healthcare, and financial services for the poor. For the sector to achieve scale and sustainability, the document recommends better segmentation of the market, standard metrics to measure both social and financial impacts, understanding trade-offs as these organizations grow

1. Patient Capital:
A New Asset Class
JACQUELINE NOVOGRATZ, ACUMEN FUND

2. In the Beginning

3. A New Breed of Businesses

4. 1989 2001
Root
Capital
SEAF
1994 1999
Aavishkar
Acumen
FundE + Co
2010

5. 1) Better Segmentation of the Marketplace
Monitor Institute

6. Number of Husk Power plants
1
4
8
33
51
33
8
43
111
TotalAug 10Mar 10Sept 09Mar 09July 08Mar 08Aug 07
First two
plants built
using
Gyanesh’s
401k savings
First wave of
prize money
used to build
additional plant
provides initial
financing
assists in bringing
on board
Indian government
grants a
capital subsidy
introduced
to Husk at
Global Venture
Challenge
Husk becomes viable
investment option for Acumen
Acume leads
$1.2 m investment
with DFJ
And
provides additional
financing
4
Multiple sources of capital are needed to build
and accelerate new markets for the poor

7. 2) Standard metrics that measure
social as well as financial impact

8. Protect Social Goals at SCALE3) A deeper understanding of trade-offs
and incentives to protect social goals
and efficiencies as innovations scale

9. 4) A powerful focus on policy

10. 5) Talent

11. Getty Images

13. EPA/Peter Foley