WBII Recommends:
"The Blue Sweater"
Bridging The Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder & CEO, The Acumen Fund

Jacqueline Novogratz may not be a household name (yet) but mark my words, she soon will be! The Acumen Fund's revolutionary concept combines the best of the Philanthropy model and the best of the Venture Capital model to identify and invest in high potential entrepreneurs serving the poorest people in the world.

The Blue Sweater is a captivating book about Jacqueline's own journey around the globe that began in the international banking sector and after decades of development work, ultimately led her to found the Acumen Fund. I have never flipped to the back cover of a book as many times as I did while reading this book. Why? It was so hard to believe that these stories, experiences and initiatives all came from just one woman!

Jacqueline's unique perspective and approach are the result of working in the field in Africa and in organizations such as The World Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation, combined with skills she honed in the corporate world and in Stanford's MBA program. This book, like Jacqueline herself, crosses over and interconnects the non-profit and for profit sectors, accountability and the bottom line with dignity and humanity, poverty and privilege. Jacqueline and the Acumen fund push innovation; not to serve the elite, but to drive down production costs to make life changing products and services accessible to the poor.

The Blue Sweater is not a typical "How to" business book. Instead it is an inspiring story of one woman tackling the most pervasive problem of poverty and igniting people and corporations to make a real difference in the world.  The Acumen Fund has already funded over 30 thriving enterprises helping 36 million people.   This is the ultimate example of social entrepreneurship and innovation in action! 

To read more about Jacqueline, click here. To hear Jacqueline tell the story of the Blue Sweater, click here. 
To order the book, click here, (a few cents goes to the wbii).
To borrow my copy of the book, just ask:-)

Success,