Jacqueline Novogratz (born 1961) is an American entrepreneur and author. She is the founder and CEO of Acumen, a nonprofit global

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

fund whose goal is to use entrepreneurial approaches to address global poverty.

Early life

Novogratz was born in 1961 in the US, the eldest of seven children. Her father was a career officer and major in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, and her mother, Barbara, ran an antiques business. She attended

Fort Hunt High School Fort Hunt High School was a public secondary school in Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, from 1963 until 1985, when it was converted to a middle school. Constructed at a cost of $2.5 million, Fort Hunt High opened its doors at ...

in Alexandria, Virginia, and earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where she studied economics and international relations. She earned an MBA from the

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business is the Postgraduate education, graduate business school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective ...

Career

Novogratz started her career at

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding ...

in 1983, as an international credit analyst. After three years, she left banking to explore how to make a difference in the world. She worked throughout Africa as a consultant for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and for

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

. As a UNICEF consultant in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

in the late 1980s, she helped found ''Duterimbere,'' a

microfinance Microfinance consists of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses (SMEs) who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; saving ...

institution. Novogratz founded and directed The Philanthropy Workshop and The Next Generation Leadership programs at the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

before founding Acumen in 2001. Acumen invests

patient capital Patient capital is another name for long term capital. With patient capital, the investor is willing to make a financial investment in a business with no expectation of turning a quick profit. Instead, the investor is willing to forgo an immediate ...

in businesses that provide critical goods and services to people living in poverty. It estimates that it has impacted 648 million people through its investments. Novogratz oversaw the development of Acumen's Fellowship program, which develops leaders for the social sector. Novogratz serves on the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Social Enterprise Initiative, and

. She also serves on the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home. Its stated miss ...

board of trustees, the

Pakistan Business Council The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) () is a business policy advocacy platform, established in 2005 by 14 of Pakistan's (now 68) largest private-sector businesses / conglomerates, including multinationals. It is a professionally run organizatio ...

Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB)], is a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

, and the

American Academy of Arts & Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other F ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

, as Secretary of State, appointed Novogratz to the State Department's Foreign Affairs Policy Board.

''The Blue Sweater''

In 2009, Novogratz published ''The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World''. The book is a firsthand account of her journey from international banker to social entrepreneur and founder of Acumen. The title of her book, ''The Blue Sweater'', refers to an encounter she had in

Kigali, Rwanda Kigali () is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relatively new city. It has ...

. Novogratz spotted a boy wearing a blue sweater. She recognized it as a sweater she had owned and given to

Goodwill Goodwill or good will may refer to: * Goodwill (accounting), the value of a business entity not directly attributable to its assets and liabilities * Goodwill ambassador, occupation or title of a person that advocates a cause * Goodwill Games, a f ...

a decade earlier; it was hers, with her name on the tag. The encounter was an epiphany for Novogratz; her sense of the interconnectedness of our world has continued to influence her current work.

Personal life

Novogratz is married to Chris Anderson, the owner of

TED Talks TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

. Her brothers include

Michael Novogratz Michael Edward Novogratz (born November 26, 1964) is an American investor, formerly of the investment firm Fortress Investment Group. He is currently CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners which focuses on investments in cryptocurrency. Early life R ...

and Robert Novogratz.

Awards

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

magazine's 100 Greatest Living Business Minds, 2017 *

400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2016 * The Resolution Project Champions Circle Award, 2016 *

Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...

Game Changer, 2014 * Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential in Global Finance, 2014 * 25 Most Successful Stanford Business School Graduates of All time *

Distinguished Alumna Award, 2013 *

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

CSE Vision Award and honorary doctorate, 2013 * Notre Dame Award for International Human Development, 2013 * Women of Concern Humanitarian Award, 2012 *

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2010 *

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

’s Sandor Teszler Award for Moral Courage and Service to Humankind in

Spartanburg, SC Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

, 2010 *

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

's Top 100 Global Thinkers, 2009 *

Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

's 25 Smartest People of the Decade, 2009 * AWNY's Changing the Game Award, 2009 *

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 *

Warren Weaver Fellow *

Henry Crown Fellow

Honorary degrees

* Doctor of Humane Letters

New England College New England College (NEC) is a private liberal arts college in Henniker, New Hampshire. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of fall 2020, the college enrolled 4,327 students (1,776 undergraduate and 2,551 grad ...

, 2017 * Doctor of Laws,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, 2015 * Doctor of Humane Letters,

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

, 2014 * Doctorate of Humane Letters,

, 2013 * Doctor of Humane Letters,

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

, 2012 * Doctor of Laws,

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, 2011 * Doctor of Humanities,

, 2010

Works

* ''The blue sweater : bridging the gap between rich and poor in an interconnected world'', New York Rodale 2010. * ''Manifesto for a moral revolution : Practices to Build a Better World'', New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Novogratz, Jacqueline Living people American chief executives of financial services companies American economics writers American financial analysts American financial company founders American women company founders American company founders American nonprofit chief executives American venture capitalists Women venture capitalists American women chief executives Businesspeople from New York City American social entrepreneurs Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni University of Virginia alumni William Peace University alumni World Bank people Writers from New York City Women financial analysts American women investors Henry Crown Fellows 1961 births Asia Game Changer Award winners 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American women writers