Top quotes by Jacqueline Novogratz

The poor don't live in functional market economies as the rest of us do, but in political economies where corruption and broken systems extend from local government to moneylenders. Votes: 36

Acumen Fund's patient capital investment in Western Seed is intended to enhance the food security and economic independence of Kenya's smallholder farmers. Votes: 31

Many business leaders are seeing the relationship between long term success and sustainability, and that's very heartening. Votes: 27

Through the Fellows Program, Acumen Fund prepares future global leaders with the tools necessary to drive significant social change. Votes: 25

When we deny the poor and the vulnerable their own human dignity and capacity for freedom and choice, it becomes self-denial. It becomes a denial of both our collective and individual dignity, at all levels of society. Votes: 24

As both developed and developing nations search for alternative sources of energy in response to the growing energy crisis, we at Acumen Fund believe that investing in entrepreneurs who provide innovative energy solutions is an increasingly critical part of the solution. Votes: 20

Despite the hundreds of non-governmental organizations and the continued outpouring of foreign aid, East Africa remains as a region overwhelmed by extreme poverty. Votes: 17

I think I still have a great sense of adventure and trust, and am surprisingly idealistic given all the horrible things I've seen since I was 25. I think how I have changed is that I have a much deeper understanding of the dark forces in the world, of power. Votes: 17

President Kennedy said that those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable. I would say that the converse is true. Votes: 17

Changing the world is not easy. Votes: 16

Malaria is a disease that kills one to three million people a year. 300 to 500 million cases are reported. It's estimated that Africa loses about 13 billion dollars a year to the disease. Five dollars can save a life. We can send people to the moon; we can see if there's life on Mars - why can't we get five-dollar nets to 500 million people? Votes: 13

I studied international relations and economics at the University of Virginia. I paid my way by working as a bartender in the summer and at three part-time jobs during the year. Votes: 13

There's a real moral imperative in being an organization that takes the time to sit and listen to the customers and the people they're serving. Votes: 12

There are cases where government-to-government aid actually has worked. Look at the eradication of smallpox and the near eradication of polio. But these are really top down solutions that require government-to-government support and aid. Votes: 12

Human beings tend not to spend money on health preventionally. We tend to spend it on top treatment. Votes: 9

We see very, very high rates of C-sections, Cesarean sections, in India. Lots of reasons for it, high levels of malnutrition have meant that women have very small pelvic areas often, so if they have larger babies, it's very hard to deliver. Votes: 9

I'm feeling optimistic about rural Pakistan. Farmers are making good money. Votes: 9

I dream a world in no one feels the need for or fear of predatory behavior, in which each of us walks with the knowledge of how beautiful - and valuable - is each human life. Votes: 8

Companies like Husk Power Systems are working to impact positively not only the environment, but to ensure that someday everyone, including the poorest of the poor in rural India, will have access to clean and affordable electricity. Votes: 8

Our actions - and inaction - touch people we may never know and never meet across the globe. Votes: 8

People have to understand that unless social enterprise is experimental, it will not succeed in making a difference. Votes: 7

I have seen that traditional approaches to charity and aid don't solve problems of poverty. In fact, too often they create dependence. Votes: 7

I've heard it said that the most dangerous animal on the planet is the adolescent male. Votes: 5

In the case of maternal health care, you look at, well naturally, it's the mother who's the customer, who makes the decisions. But in truth, the mother in many areas, in certain parts of India, the mother has very little decision-making power at all. The real decision-maker is the mother-in-law. Votes: 5

I believe the government should ensure all children are provided with a good education. Votes: 4

In India, we now see many highly qualified professionals ready to work in the rural hinterland and in their own towns and cities to tackle development issues directly without depending much on the government. Votes: 3

Even when early innovations start to succeed, it is not uncommon to see growing businesses sabotaged for threatening the status quo. Votes: 2

Money earned by men would not always reach to their wives and children. Votes: 2

For too much of history, we've viewed the world's precious resources - both environmental and human - as things to extract, to make the most of in order to maximize their potential. Votes: 1

This idea of universal access to basic healthcare has to be figured out as a world. No country has figured it out in part because it is driven by ideology. Votes: 1

What farmers gain most of all from the increase in agricultural productivity, of course, is choice. Votes: 0

When Jeff Sachs says every poor person should receive a free bed net, I agree - but in reality, many end up not receiving one. And I don't live in a world of shoulds. Votes: 0

I've been working on issues of poverty for more than 20 years, and so it's ironic that the problem that and question that I most grapple with is how you actually define poverty. What does it mean? Votes: 0

On a macro level, four billion people on Earth make less than four dollars a day. Votes: 0

Grief releases love and it also instills a profound sense of connection. Votes: 0

Today, 30-year-olds are becoming social entrepreneurs. Votes: 0

We live in a world in which we're seeing an increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots. Votes: 0

Why do some people stop growing at age 30, just going from work to the couch and television, when others stay vibrant, curious, almost childlike into their nineties? Votes: 0

I've learned that there is no currency like trust and no catalyst like hope. There is nothing worse for building relationships than pandering, on one hand, and preaching, on the other. And the most important quality we must all strengthen in ourselves is that of a deep human empathy, for that will provide the most hope of all and the foundation for our collective survival. Votes: 0

So many low income people have seen so many failed promises broken and seen so many quacks and sporadic medicines offered to them that building trust takes a lot of time, takes a lot of patience. Votes: 0

I wrote 'The Blue Sweater' to inspire more people to become engaged in working to solve the problems of global poverty. Votes: 0

Your job is not to be perfect, your job is only to be human. Votes: 0

Very small investments can release the infinite potential that lies in all of us. Votes: 0

I think we so often equate leadership with being experts - the leader is supposed to come in and fix things. But in this interconnected world we live in now, it's almost impossible for just one person to do that. Votes: 0

In today's world, the elites are growing even more comfortable with one another across national lines, yet at the same time, less comfortable with low-income people who share their nationality. How we create those bonds of community that are truly global as well as national is one of our generation's great challenges. Votes: 0

Dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth. Votes: 0

Standing with the poor means walking away from unethical leaders, even when their companies are 'succeeding.' Votes: 0

Five days in Nairobi slums changes you. Votes: 0

The poor also are willing to make, and do make, smart decisions, if you give them that opportunity. Votes: 0

When it comes to solving problems of poverty, impact investing can act as a catalyst, but it is not a silver bullet. Successful businesses serving the poor need more than investment capital. They also need infrastructure to enable effective distribution, strong regulatory systems, access to markets, technical assistance as they scale up, and more Votes: 0

Each of us can work to change a small portion of events. And it's in the total of all those acts that the history of this generation will be written. Votes: 0

May each of you live lives of immersion. They won't necessarily be easy lives. But in the end, it is all that will sustain us. Votes: 0

The time for change is now. Votes: 0

I would like philanthropists to take more risks and invest more in risk capital. Votes: 0

I was an accidental banker. To please my parents, I went for an interview with Chase Manhattan Bank in 1983. They promised to send me into their offices in more than 40 countries and essentially audit the practices. It was an extraordinary job. Votes: 0

Acumen Fund is my prayer in response to genocide and what happened in Rwanda. Votes: 0

Where micro-finance focuses on small loans to individual, low-income women, think of Acumen Fund more like a venture capital fund. Votes: 0

Monsters will always exist. There's one inside each of us. But an angel lives there, too. There is no more important agenda than figuring out how to slay one and nurture the other. Votes: 0

As a 25-year-old banker, I decided to leave my career and change the world. This sounds like a move that a 25-year-old banker might make today - to escape the chaos. Votes: 0

Wealth today has been created by a world view dominated by fast-moving networks, open information, bottom-up entrepreneurialism. Votes: 0

Rockefeller viewed his philanthropy through the lens of his business, and it really mirrored the Industrial Revolution. It was highly centralized, it was top down, it was based on experts, and it was big-picture. Votes: 0

Too often people view idealists as naive. Votes: 0

Sometimes very small investments can release enormous, infinite potential that exists in all of us. Votes: 0

Sproxil will help combat the multi-billion dollar counterfeit drug market, empower customers, and give them the resources to make informed pharmaceutical purchasing decisions. Votes: 0

You have to learn to ask questions in a way that will elicit more nuanced answers, rather than the answers you would like to get. Votes: 0

What we yearn for as human beings is to be visible to each other. Votes: 0

Leaders can get stuck in groupthink because they're really not listening, or they're listening only to what they want to listen to, or they actually think they're so right that they're not interested in listening. And that leads to a lot of suboptimal solutions in the world. Votes: 0

Freedom is what beauty feels like when it can most express itself. Votes: 0

Our lives are so short. And our time on this planet is so precious. All we have is each other. Votes: 0

The only way we really create change is to enter any situation with the humility to listen and to recognize the world as it is, and then the audacity to dream what it could be, to have the patience to start and let the work teach you, to be willing to lead when you need to lead, and to listen. To have a sense of generosity and empathy, but not over-empathy, because accountability is so critical to building solutions that work. Votes: 0

Every day we have a choice. We can take the easier road, the more cynical road, which is a road sometimes based on a dream of a past that never was, fear of each other, distancing and blame, or we can take the much more difficult path, the road of transformation, transcendence, compassion, and love, but also accountability and justice. Votes: 0

Sometimes the most important things that we do are things we cannot measure. Votes: 0

Entrepreneurs are the seekers of solutions, and that they will go into these places where both market and traditional aid has failed or traditional charity has failed. Votes: 0

My dream is to find individuals who take financial resources and convert them into changing the world in the most positive ways. Votes: 0

1.5 billion people lack proper access to electricity. Many buy kerosene, which can cost 30 percent of their income. It sends millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. And often the lamp will fall over and catch the house on fire. So mothers hate it, but it's their only option. Votes: 0

The only way we really create change is to enter any situation with the humility to listen and to recognize the world as it is, and then the audacity to dream what it could be. Votes: 0

The older I get, the more determined I feel to do whatever I can to help release that human potential somehow. Not in a fluffy way nor in a hardcore way. But in that middle ground, that marriage of love and power. I'm not afraid of either. Votes: 0

Poverty is not only about income levels, but for lack of freedom that comes from physical insecurity Votes: 0

If you're looking at distributing alternative energy in Nigeria, for instance, what gets in your way is not people's ability to pay, not people's desire for a clean solar lamps or biomass opportunities. But there is a strong status quo that really depends on selling diesel. Votes: 0

As a young woman, I dreamed of changing the world. In my twenties, I went to Africa to try and save the continent, only to learn that Africans neither wanted nor needed saving. Indeed, when I was there, I saw some of the worst that good intentions, traditional charity, and aid can produce... Votes: 0

We don't see profit as a blind instrument. Votes: 0

Girls and women are most victimised in societies where boys and men are disempowered. Votes: 0

Honour what is most beautiful about the past and build it into the promise of the future. Votes: 0

We are connected to each other not only as humans, but to every living thing on the planet. Votes: 0

We need moral leadership and courage in our world. Votes: 0

There are 60 million generators in Nigeria. The generator owners and distributors have a strong incentive to not encourage the distribution of solar and other alternative energies, even though it's better for the country, it's better for people. As a world, we've got to get more serious about confronting those obstacles. This knows no culture, no race, no ethnicity. Votes: 0

What is the cost of not daring? What is the cost of not trying? Votes: 0

I have also been touched by the dark side of power and leadership. Votes: 0

Nothing important happens in life without a cost. Votes: 0

I still feel that the kind of leader I want to be is one that spends time understanding our work in a way that allows me to translate it for policymakers and people who have real access to resources. Votes: 0

Just start Don't wait for perfection. Just start and let the work teach you. Votes: 0

Don't let people tell you to do it this way. You are on the verge of figuring out hybrid models -- with companies and nonprofits, markets, government, crowd-sourced philanthropy. The capitalist system as we know it is not working. Votes: 0

I feel like I'm a relentless, pragmatic, determined optimist. Votes: 0

To be part of building a movement, you have to keep moving. Votes: 0

There is power in creating a small model, and then you can create an alliance of other small models. Votes: 0

What would the world look like if we asked ourselves the following more often; are our actions helping others find a way to feel more freer, more dignified and more beautiful? Votes: 0

I'm relentless in that I deeply believe in people. Votes: 0

People need to believe that they can participate fully in the decisions that affect their lives and have a stake in the societies in which they live Votes: 0

Africa can stun you in an instant. It can throw floods and drought and disease at you, sometimes all at the same time. In the next moment, it will tease you with its magnificent beauty, so even if you don't forget, you can find a way to forgive. Ultimately, it keeps you coming back for more. Votes: 0

I finally understood: In order to contribute to Africa, I would have to know myself better and be clearer about my goals. I would have to be ready to take Africa on its own terms, not mine, and to learn my limits and present myself not as a do-gooder with a big heart, but as someone with something to give and gain by being there. Compassion wasn't enough Votes: 0

My whole life has been spent with people who have taken every knock in the world. No advantages. Yet they greet you with a big smile, they give you what they have, and they keep coming back. They are the fighters. Votes: 0

A #"Ž sustainable world means working together to create prosperity for all. Votes: 0

Dignity is more important than wealth. Votes: 0

Freedom ultimately is dignity. And dignity, not income, is the opposite of poverty. Votes: 0

By going from the bottom-up again, we see where successes work, and you can also see where the status quo can be the biggest obstacle or roadblock to success. The kind of entrepreneurs in whom we need to invest are the kind who are willing to fight that status quo, bureaucracy, complacency, and corruption. Votes: 0

The best change that comes to the world is when all parties are seeing each other as equal, and all parties have the opportunity to be transformed. That really goes back to the idea of dignity. Votes: 0

Philanthropy is no longer about writing a check for $10,000 to the opera. Votes: 0

When I first went to Africa, I thought that I was personally going to save the continent, if not the world. Votes: 0

Our actions- and inaction- touch people every day, people we may never know and never meet. Votes: 0

How you see where you are always depends on where you've been. Votes: 0

Traditional charity and aid are never going to solve the problems of poverty. Votes: 0

If indeed we can create systems that allow individuals to access goods and services like health and housing and energy and water, in a way that they can afford, they'll all have greater choice, greater opportunity, greater dignity. Votes: 0

All people deserve access to health at prices they can afford. Votes: 0

We need leaders, we ourselves need to lead from a place that has the audacity to believe that we ourselves can extend the fundamental assumption that all men are created equal to every, man woman and child on this planet. And we need the humility to recognize that we cannot do it alone. Votes: 0

Human beings want to see each other. We want to be heard by each other. Votes: 0

One of the first things that surprised me in a positive, wonderfully positive way, is that this works - patient capital works. Votes: 0

Being poor doesn't mean being ordinary. Votes: 0

Things are always harder than you think they're going to be. Votes: 0

What we call people so often distances us from them, and makes them little. Votes: 0

Failure can be an incredibly motivating force. Votes: 0

Africans didn't want saving, thank you very much, least of all not by me. Votes: 0

I was going to save the world, and I thought I would start with the African continent. Votes: 0

The time for us to begin innovating and looking for new solutions is now. Votes: 0

There are probably no more market-oriented individuals on the planet, than low income people. Votes: 0

If there's one value that is immutable, it's integrity or respect, for others and for yourself. Votes: 0

We often don't realize what our action & our inaction do to people we think we will never see & never know. Votes: 0

The only way to end poverty, to make it history, is to build viable systems on the ground that deliver critical and affordable goods and services to the poor, in ways that are financially sustainable and scaleable. If we do that, we really can make poverty history. Votes: 0

Poverty is too complex to be answered with a one-size-fits-all approach, and if there is any place that illustrates that complexity, as well as a better way forward, it is Rwanda. Votes: 0

I was encouraged to break all the rules but to take the best of philanthropy, the best of investing, and the best of development finance, and experiment with new ways to create this venture capital model of using philanthropy to back patient capital investments, and then build solutions that were measured in terms of the kind of impact and change they were making on people's lives and in the world, not just on the financial return. Votes: 0

You should focus on being more interested than interesting. Votes: 0

When we were walking through the narrow alleys [of the Mathare Valley slums], it was literally impossible not to step in the raw sewage and the garbage alongside the little homes. But at the same time it was also impossible not to see the human vitality, the aspiration and the ambition of the people who live there. Votes: 0

On the one hand, I loved being a banker. I loved how numbers could tell a story and how you can invest in ideas and see them translate into products and services and create jobs. What I didn't like, particularly where I was working in Brazil during the debt crisis of the early '80s, was how the poor were excluded from the banking system. I made the decision to try and experiment with whether we could use the tools of banking to extend the benefits of the economy to the poor. Votes: 0

We can send people to the Moon; we can see if there's life on Mars - why can't we get $5 [mosquito] nets to 500 million people? Votes: 0

We have to remember that the girls and the women are most isolated and violated and victimized and made invisible in those very societies where our men and our boys feel disempowered, unable to provide. Votes: 0

People really don't want handouts, that they want to make their own decisions. Votes: 0

The human spirit is extraordinary. If we give the 3 billion people who live in poverty the opportunity to change their lives, they will. For too long, we've looked at needing to "save" these people - with an emphasis on "these people" - rather than removing the constraints keeping them from solving their own problems. Votes: 0

Four billion people on Earth make less than four dollars a day. Votes: 0

When systems are broken, it's an opportunity for invention and innovation. Votes: 0

What we really yearn for as human beings is to be visible. Votes: 0

Listening is not only about waiting, but it's also learning how better to ask questions. Votes: 0

When people gain income, they gain choice, and that is fundamental to dignity. Votes: 0

It's about all of us, and the kind of world that we, together, want to live in and share. Votes: 0

After all this atrocity, this is how human beings really pray. Votes: 0