Adarsh Kumar

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2008

Adarsh Kumar

Livelihoods Equity Connect

http://www.aiacaonline.org

New Delhi, India

Community Improvement & Economic Development, Food, Nutrition, Agriculture

The Bold Idea:

Building a venture capital fund to serve businesses that are owned by or employ poor producers, thereby serving their unmet financial and other business needs and enabling them to scale up to become commercially successful companies.

In many developing countries, such as India, Sri Lanka, and China, small farmers, fishermen, dairy producers, and craft-workers constitute a significant part of the population and operate as micro-entrepreneurs. Yet, they continue to live in poverty. Despite rapid economic growth and increasing domestic demand, such micro-entrepreneurs are unable to access mainstream markets and increase their incomes due to the small scale of their operations and lack of access to human, technical, and financial resources.

Livelihoods Equity Connect (LEC) seeks to create a new model to help these producers by making equity investments in producer-groups and using that window to deliver high-quality managerial advice to them. By developing a set of tools to cost-effectively invest amounts in the range of $200,000 in such producer-groups and proving that it can be done profitably, LEC has the potential to dramatically increase the flow of private capital to serve the equity needs of the poor.

Adarsh Kumar pitching at Echoing Green Selection Weekend (May 2, 2008)

Biography:

Adarsh Kumar has worked on a range of initiatives promoting livelihood options for the poor, ranging from organizing producers at the village level to exploring research-led policy solutions at the national level. In 2003, he successfully established a start-up that pursues innovative solutions to increasing market access and enhancing the incomes of poor craft producers in India. Adarsh holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Moment of Obligation: What experiences led to the desire to start your own organization?
Over the last two years, I visited a number of farmer and crafts-producer groups. Interacting with them and analyzing their financial data strengthened my belief that these groups could be turned into profitable companies. Strangely, no commercial investors were willing to work with these producers, despite their business potential. I felt that my education and work experience put me in a unique position to address this gap by starting a new organization that brought together traditional business approaches to helping establish and scale up companies along with a strong commitment to working with groups of poor producers.

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to dream big and take on deeply entrenched social and difficult problems? (Such as experiences, skills, events, etc.)
There are three attributes that have helped me to work on addressing social problems: values, focus, and mentors. The foundation of my work is a commitment to the principles of social service and equality. During graduate school, I chose “livelihoods” as the field I would focus on to make an impact on the lives of others. I stuck with this field for the past nine years. I have also been fortunate to have a series of mentors who supported me and gave me the space to express, think through, and improve my ideas.

New and Untested: What's innovative about your new idea for social change?
I have been working with small producers in rural India over the past decade and realized over time that current approaches, including my own, were not adjusting to account for rapid economic growth. My idea is to adapt the model of venture capital investing and demonstrate that it is profitable to actually invest equity in rural producer-based companies. No one has tried to adapt mainstream venture capital investment concepts and tools to the needs of poor producers.

Seeing Possibilities: What are the most important qualities to be a successful social entrepreneur?
Belief in yourself, never giving in to cynicism—both your own and others—about your ability to catalyze change, adapting your ideas to changing circumstances, and persistence.

Which musical artists/albums get you going and keep you inspired?
My musical tastes are very eclectic and I like ‘discovering’ new artists. Jazz is a perennial favorite—nothing better after a long workday! This year, I’ve been listening to a lot of Radiohead, KT Tunstall, The Killers and my favorite band at the moment, The Shins.

What books do you recommend (pleasure, work and anything in between)?
I read a lot and believe that my love for books has played a large role in expanding my view of the world. I try and alternate between non-fiction and fiction. Interesting non-fiction I’ve read recently: The Mystery of Capital by Hernando De Soto (recommended for anyone working on livelihoods issues), Red Sun by Sandeep Chakravarti, In Defense of Globalization by Jagdish Bhagawati and The Future of Freedom by Fareed Zakaria. Interesting fiction I’ve read recently: What is the What by Dave Eggers, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark and The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak.

Which websites do you visit often (work and/or personal)?
For work, I scan the websites of big donors like:

• worldbank.org
• fordfound.org
• gatesfoundation.org

As well as sites for social entrepreneurs like:

• echoinggreen.org
• macfound.org
• ashoka.org (very useful to keep up with new ideas in development and getting inspiration for my own work)

I’m obsessed with reading the news! To keep up with world events, I visit:

• nytimes.com
• economist.com
• hinduonnet.com (best India news)
• bbc.co.uk (best world news)

Other interesting livelihoods-related sites I’ve found lately:

• kiva.org
• endeavor.com

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a social change leader?
I find inspiration in interacting with others working on social change and reading about and listening to social change leaders such as Lincoln, Gandhi, King and Robert Kennedy. This poem by John Donne is also a favorite:

For Whom the Bell Tolls
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.