Field Placement
At the core of the Fellows Program is the 9-month field placement, providing each Fellow with on-the-ground experience working at different organizations in Acumen Fund’s portfolio. They collaborate closely with social entrepreneurs, solve complex business problems, and experience first hand what it’s like to address the needs of those at the bottom of the pyramid. Fellows will gain a better to understanding around the dynamics of performance management, organizational behavior, stakeholder analysis, role clarity, expectation management, and relationship building in the context of low income markets. This is all with the aim of strengthening their individual competencies as well as those of their team.
Placement Organizations
Fellows are placed in Acumen Fund investee organizations in India, Pakistan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, or China. The work that each organization does is as varied as Acumen’s portfolio, ranging from agriculture, to energy, to health, to housing, to water. Placements are decided on for each Fellow taking into account the expertise of the Fellow, as well as the needs of the investments.
Job Descriptions
Acumen Fund Fellows report directly to senior management of the organization they are placed with and provide critical strategic and management support aimed at building and scaling the organization. Some of the Fellows responsibilities include building and training a rural sales team for MicroDrip in Pakistan; developing a distribution plan for LED solar lights for D.Light in India; and developing standard operating processes for the scale up of the LifeSpring maternity hospital chain in India.
Watch videos from the field
Karthik Janakiraman (Class of 2009) worked on drip irrigation systems in Pakistan
Jawad Aslam (Class of 2008) worked on sustainable housing development in Pakistan
Catherine Casey (Class of 2008) worked to provide healthcare to slumdwellers in Kenya
Kevin Martin (Class of 2010) worked on creative marketing to villagers in Tanzania