Interview with Dr. Ajay Nair, Portfolio Associate at Acumen Fund

In partnership with GAIN, Acumen Fund is investing in local businesses seeking to develop nutritious products for infants and young children in countries with a high burden of malnutrition. In November 2008 the GAIN-Acumen Nutrition Fund Portfolio made its first investment in Insta Products, a Kenyan company that is developing and distributing a low cost porridge product. GAIN caught up with Dr. Ajay Nair, who manages Acumen Fund investments on the ground from Kenya’s capital Nairobi, to learn more about the fund’s commitment to innovative solutions for malnutrition.

Why are you fighting malnutrition?
Malnutrition is one of the world’s most pressing health problems implicated in almost half of all child deaths worldwide. In addition to being a cause of mortality, malnutrition adversely affects the physical and cognitive development of generations of children. This propagates the vicious cycle of poverty – the poor not being able to afford adequate nutrition, not being able to realize their full potential and hence not being able to pull themselves out of poverty.
 
How are you fighting malnutrition?
Acumen Fund, in collaboration with GAIN, makes debt and equity investments with the aim of enabling innovative enterprises to make high quality nutritious foods for infants 6 to 24 months old available to millions of low income consumers at prices that they can afford. We believe that local entrepreneurs with a knack for providing smart, effective and sustainable solutions will add tremendously to the fight against hunger.  Acumen investments are usually at lower rates of interest than prevailing market rates, have longer payback periods and are accompanied by intensive management assistance. We believe that this ‘patient’ capital will go a long way in helping these enterprises move to scale.
 
What is GAIN's added value to you?
GAIN, in addition to bringing in capital to the sector, has an enlightened view of the possible solutions to malnutrition. It is very encouraging to see a successful public private partnership that has managed to bring diverse players to the table with the common aim of addressing the problem of malnutrition. Our partnership with GAIN helps our investee organizations access capital, high quality technical support as well as build bridges with national and international public agencies.
 
Why is GAIN's partnership important to you?
Our collaboration with GAIN has given us the means to make an impact on a major public health problem. GAIN has also opened up avenues for us and our investees to work hand in hand in what is really a worldwide effort to address malnutrition.
 
What do you think is needed to scale up interventions?
We at Acumen are firm believers in listening to the consumer.  Changes in dietary habits will not happen overnight or in a top down fashion. Products and interventions need to be designed keeping in mind what people want and their ability to pay. Local enterprises might be best positioned to do this in an effective and sustainable manner and can use all the support we can give them. In addition to this there is a need to work on creating the right environment at a government and public policy level to help nutrition interventions move to scale.