Acumen America

Excited to launch our new website today. Read a note from Catherine Casey Nanda and Amon Anderson reflecting on nine years of Acumen America and discussing our bold strategy for the future.

In America, 45 million people live without access to affordable credit, while 16 million people don't have access to a checking or savings account. The Mission Asset Fund (MAF) gives historically marginalized communities outside the financial mainstream loans they need through their Lending Circles program. Here, MAF's CEO José A. Quiñonez writes about how Lending Circles help Americans build credit and find more stable financial footing. https://lnkd.in/gcm_cnDm 

Medicaid has a behavioral health crisis. Amon Anderson writes about how our portfolio companies Flourish Health and Arise are addressing Medicaid’s behavioral health shortfalls. https://lnkd.in/dgfttxx9

Listening to community can help improve the health outcomes of women. Here's how Reema Health and Michigan Medicine's Community Health Services are doing it. “Everything is designed based on what we're learning in the field,” Reema founder Justin Ley says. “We're seeing how it's going anecdotally and qualitatively, learning what works and what doesn't, and improving our program over time. The design comes from the doing.” Read the whole story at Acumen America: https://lnkd.in/eHW_ayue 

Congratulations to our portfolio company Kiip for their acquisition by Findhelp. Founder Noah Harlan and his team have built an incredible platform to simplify access to social services and benefits. In partnering with Findhelp, a leading tech-enabled #SDOH platform, Kiip will be able to reach millions of users and reach impact at scale. We’re very excited for this next chapter.

Monique Shaw, PhD, MPH, CHES from RWJF wants to reimagine the healthcare system so we listen to patients and their needs. "We do need to restructure the care model. We need to reimagine the entire system. What we don't often do is understand and take a really deep look at systems that are created outside of the current system in response to the current system not meeting people's needs.” Read the whole interview at Acumen America. https://lnkd.in/eRhDNt5a

Our portfolio company samaritan was implemented in five Los Angeles community health centers, aiming to support individuals at risk or experiencing homelessness. This groundbreaking report supported by California Health Care Foundation  and in collaboration with HEALTH CARE LA, IPA and Dignity Health California Hospital Medical Center found that Samaritan provided significant financial support and community encouragement to its members.    Samaritan's digital health intervention had a 54% cost savings with an average annual savings of $5,480.67 per person, reduced emergency department use by 21.4%, and more. Read the whole report here. https://lnkd.in/guPfE_SW

Congratulations to our portfolio company Esusu for the launch of Esusu 2.0, their reimagined brand identity centered on the theme of Unlock Tomorrow. We are proud to be on this journey with Wemimo Abbey, Samir Goel, and the Esusu Team. Read more about the history of the Esusu brand and their vision for this next chapter here: https://lnkd.in/gwVDhzJc

We recently added a new company to our health portfolio with an investment in Zócalo Health. Zócalo is a digital healthcare platform that provides Latinos with culturally competent and community-oriented care. Nearly 1-in-5 Latinos are uninsured and 58% say they prefer a Spanish speaking doctor. Co-founders Erik Cardenas and Mariza H. started Zócalo to give the Latino community simpler access to healthcare. The start-up provides patients access to primary care, behavioral health, social services, care coordination, complex care management, and urgent care. The company uses community health workers to engage and build trust with Latino patients and help Medicaid payors—31.4% of Medicaid beneficiaries nationwide identify as Hispanic—better serve a large and underserved demographic. At Acumen America, we are always looking for companies with a specific focus on impact. Zócalo’s vision aligns with our goals to increase access to healthcare for a growing and historically marginalized population by leveraging tech-enabled solutions with a community focus. Zócalo currently operates in Texas, California, and Washington and is looking to expand to more states. Learn more about Zócalo at: https://www.zocalo.health/ 

Catherine Casey Nanda spoke with 11VEN's Erica Mackey about how impact investing has changed, the role of market shaping, the rise of Medicaid, what makes a successful entrepreneur, and more.