Acumen Fund Announces New Investments In Pakistan To Build Scalable Business That Serv...( Investments ...),Health

Investments Intended to Catalyze a Global Micro-Insurance Sector, Provide a Suite of Financial Services to Low Income Populations, Scale Drip Irrigation Systems that Conserve Water and Increase Incomes, and Pioneer Tele-Health Center Franchises

New York, NY (PRWEB) November 18, 2008 -- Acumen Fund, a global venture capital fund that invests in sustainable, scalable businesses that provide affordable water, housing, health, and energy services to people who earn less than $4 per day in South Asia and Africa, announced today four new investments in Pakistan. Even in uncertain economic and political times, Acumen Fund is committed to social enterprises that are providing access to critical goods and services - these are the enterprises that provide stories of hope.    

• The First Microinsurance Agency (FMiA), a company designed to provide health and life insurance to the poor: a $1.4 million joint venture investment with Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM);

• Kashf Holdings Private Limited (KHL), a holding company to establish a group of companies providing a suite of specialized financial services - micro-savings, micro-insurance, housing finance - to different segments of low income households: $750,000 equity investment and $750,000 debt investment;

• Micro Drip, a business that markets and sells to smallholder farmers innovative drip irrigation systems that conserve energy and increase incomes: $200,000 debt investment and $300,000 equity investment; and