Jacqueline Novogratz

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. Since its publication, the book has been selected by the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Peace College as common reading for all incoming freshmen.

Novogratz founded and directed The Philanthropy Workshop and The Next Generation Leadership programs at the Rockefeller Foundation before founding Acumen in 2001. Acumen invests patient capital in businesses that provide critical goods and services to people living in poverty. It estimates that it has impacted more than 260 million people through its investments. Novogratz oversaw the development of Acumen's Fellowship program, which develop leaders for the social sector.

Novogratz started her career at Chase Manhattan Bank 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 and for UNICEF. As a UNICEF consultant in Rwanda in the late 1980s, she helped found Duterimbere, Rwanda's first microfinance institution.

Jacqueline Novogratz (born 1961) is an American entrepreneur and author. She is the founder and CEO of Acumen, a non-profit global venture capital fund whose goal is to use entrepreneurial approaches to address global poverty.

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