A Different Kind of Capitalism — Jacqueline Novogratz and the Reinvention of Aid [On Being]

A Different Kind of Capitalism — Jacqueline Novogratz and the Reinvention of Aid

August 19, 2010

Jacqueline Novogratz has helped reinvent the landscape of global aid and development by bringing the notion of "patient capitalism" to the world's economic table. Her Acumen Fund has an increasingly influential profile charting a third way between investment for profit and aid for free.

About the Image

1298, an ambulance service based in Mumbai, India, charges fees on a sliding price scale according to the medical care center the patient chooses.

+ (photo: Acumen Fund/Flickr)

Program Details

Hear the Music

» On Being Playlist ¦ listen to full-length tracks of each song played in the program

Like-Minded Programs

The Ethics of Aid: One Kenyan's Perspective

Writer Binyavanga Wainaina cautions us about the morality and efficacy behind many Western initiatives to abolish poverty and speed development in Africa.

About the Image

1298, an ambulance service based in Mumbai, India, charges fees on a sliding price scale according to the medical care center the patient chooses.
(photo: Acumen Fund/Flickr)

SoundSeen

"Patient Capitalism in Context" with Chris Farrell [video, 17:59]

Our chief economics correspondent gives a helpful history of the origins of social investing, addresses some of the prevailing skepticism, and thinks of markets as "chat rooms" rather than just "listening devices."

Selected Readings

» The Acumen Fellows Reading List

A striking collection of essays, speeches, and books from an eclectic range of perspectives — from Martin Luther King to Bill Gates, from Simón Bolívar to Wendell Berry and Ursula Le Guin — that Novogratz recommends to foster empathy, self-awareness, and a business mindset in the Acumen Fellows.

Pertinent Posts from the On Being Blog

» The Ethics of Aid
Finding the line between doing good and crippling those one's trying to help — at home and abroad.

» Rilke on Asking Deeper Questions

A passage from Letters to a Young Poet cited by Novogratz.

» Reconciling "Intrusive Paternalism" and "Soft Power"

David Brooks' prescription for, and Binyavanga Wainaina's criticism of, foreign aid leaves a question unanswered.

» "Something Is Better Than Nothing, Right?"
A provocative post about the nature of development.

» Jacqueline Novogratz's Favorite Teachers

An innovator in social investing talks about three educators who influenced her most.

» Arrested Development: Making Foreign Aid a More Effective Tool
With all the criticism of aid programs, three former directors of USAID discuss the benefits, struggles, and necessities of restructuring the organization in the coming decades.

Unheard Cuts

» Unedited Interview with Jacqueline Novogratz (mp3, 85:06)

Ninety minutes cut in half leads to some difficult editing decisions. We offer Krista's interview in its entirety — uncut, just as if you were standing in the control room.