Welcome to Acumen’s monthly newsletter. This month, step inside a founder gathering in Pakistan, explore the ideas and investments shaping our work, and meet a leader helping strengthen Africa’s creative economy. You can also subscribe to our new Substack for more stories, insights, and perspectives from across Acumen’s global community.

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What I understood differently after leaving the builder's seat

Acumen’s Sarah Farooq reflects on returning to a room of founders in Skardu, Pakistan, with a new perspective.

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Acumen’s ARAF announces $90 million in newly committed capital

ARAF will expand its current activities into North Africa as it invests in agribusinesses that help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change.

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Zoom in

The Acumen Effect: Acumen’s 2025 Annual Report

Impact rarely happens in isolation. Every investment joins a constellation of entrepreneurs, capital, leaders, and communities working toward a shared goal: a world beyond poverty. Acumen’s 2025 Annual Report explores what becomes possible when those forces come together to create dignified jobs, strengthen resilience, and expand opportunity across markets and lives. This is The Acumen Effect.

Explore the report

Close up

Building Africa’s creative economy

Meet Dr. Bada Akintunde-Johnson, an Acumen West Africa Fellow and the country director of Paramount Africa. As co-founder of Africa Creative Market, Bada is helping expand opportunity across the continent’s creative economy by connecting emerging professionals with training, networks, and pathways to grow. Learn more about his leadership and the future he is working to build.

Meet Dr. Bada

See what’s coming up

AVPN Global Conference

New Delhi | August 25 - 27

Acumen will join Asia’s largest gathering of social investors and impact leaders which brings together the region’s most influential funders, investors, policymakers, and changemakers.

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Africa Food Systems Forum

Kilgali | August 31 - September 4

Join Acumen at the world's premier forum for African agriculture and food systems, where leaders come together to share lessons and advance practical solutions for a stronger, more resilient African food systems.

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Impact Investing Learning Circle: Where Philanthropy Meets Impact Investment

Virtual | September 10

Impact investing sits at the intersection of traditional philanthropy and venture capital, offering donors new ways to address urgent global challenges. Join NEID and Acumen for a learning circle to explore the role philanthropic capital plays across the impact investing spectrum, and how different forms of capital can work together to drive lasting change.

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On our Founders Hub

Have a pressing question or a challenge you're not sure how to solve? Founders Hub AI offers quick, tailored guidance grounded in a library of lessons, tools, and resources from a global community of founders. It's the only dedicated tool built specifically for entrepreneurs driving meaningful change. Chat, ask questions, and leave with a plan for the road ahead. Also available in Spanish.