Acumen CEO Jacqueline Novogratz: Why CEOs need ‘moral imagination’

I met with Novogratz recently at her brightly colored lower Manhattan headquarters. The dissolution of USAID makes groups like Acumen all the more vital. Her success is also a reminder of the power that can be unleashed when you invest in people. Acumen has invested $260 million in 215 portfolio companies, impacting 648 million lives. That’s a fraction of the $68 billion in U.S. foreign aid in 2023 but nonetheless a staggering return on investment.

One example is EthioChicken, which helped create a for-profit chicken industry in Ethiopia about a decade ago and now enables farmers to sell about five billion eggs a year. “The North Star that got me into this in the first place is that, as human beings, we want the dignity to run our own lives, to have choice and opportunity. So many of our systems create the opposite,” says Novogratz. “We sometimes go frontally at a problem like job creation, and we throw a lot of money at [job] creation, rather than focusing on electrification or building resilient healthcare systems or education systems that ultimately create a lot of jobs.”

Infrastructure challenges can also enable transformative innovations like Kenya’s M-Pesa payment app, which has spawned a generation of entrepreneurs. Fifty-nine percent of Kenya’s GDP now flows through M-Pesa. “If we sat around a table with the people who were being impacted to understand not just the problem, but the potential solution, I think we could create real opportunities,” Novogratz says. With the next generation of consumers growing fastest in the global south, the incentive for businesses to focus on addressing issues like connectivity, electricity, and skills development is compelling.

There is, of course, still a need for giving. The MacArthur Foundation said this week it will increase its giving in light of federal cuts. Novogratz is worried about the swift dismantling of USAID but hopeful that global communities of business, philanthropy, and entrepreneurs can come together to do more.

“We’re deeply pragmatic, but we hold on to this idealism that we can change the system, that we don’t just have to tweak it.”

More news below.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady, diane.brady@fortune.com, LinkedIn.

Top news

The “Trump Slump” arrived. Global stock markets took a nosedive over the last 24 hours as investors the world over digested the reality and scale of President Trump’s proposed trade tariffs. In China, the SSE was down nearly 2% this morning. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down nearly 3%. Europe was down across the board but, oddly, the UK’s FTSE 100 eked out some early marginal gains. Bitcoin declined to $79K — it’s down 15% this year.

The trouble began in the U.S. yesterday after Trump announced he would move forward with an additional 10% tariff on China plus the previously announced 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. 

After that, the S&P 500 lost 1.6%, the Dow Jones Index lost nearly half a percent, and the Nasdaq Composite lost nearly 3%. Nvidia was down nearly 9% on the day, despite delivering above-expectation earnings the day before.

Goldman Sachs called it: In a research note dated Feb. 26, the bank’s Alec Phillips said, “The tariffs President Trump has announced so far—the 10% tariff on imports from China that took effect on February 4 and the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum set to take effect on March 12—are roughly equivalent to all of the tariff hikes from the first Trump Administration.”

Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid: “Markets were in a stressed mood of their own yesterday, with renewed tariff threats from President Trump in addition to a sharp tech sell-off that saw the Magnificent 7 (-3.03%) post its worst day of 2025 so far as Nvidia slumped -8.48% after its earnings the previous evening. This marked a sixth consecutive decline for the Mag-7, the first time that’s happened since April last year, and it now leaves the index -13.56% beneath its December peak,” he said in a note today.

Convera on the "confusion" Trump is causing: “...there is growing confusion regarding the timing and extent of the tariffs the US administration will impose. Trump stated that the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada would take effect on April 2 instead of the previously mentioned March 4 date. It remains unclear whether the president was granting these countries additional time or was confused about a different program. The series of contradictions has fueled investor skepticism about Trump’s policy agenda,” per George Vessey.

Futures: Buyers may be sensing that some stocks are oversold. Contracts for S&P 500 futures were up 0.35% this morning.

$81 trillion fat-finger error: Citi accidentally credited a client’s account with $81 trillion and didn’t correct the error for 90 minutes, per the FT. The transaction was only supposed to be for $280.

From Fortune

Trump FTC Chair’s first appearance
The Trump Administration’s new FTC Chairman announced that he wants to tackle inflation by “making sure that unfair competition or deception or unfairness do not suppress American’s wages.” This mission, which came during FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson’s first public appearance in the role, “is going to be one of the top priorities of the Trump-Vance FTC,” he said. Fortune

Tesla shareholders take aim at Musk
With Tesla stock down significantly from the beginning of the year, some Tesla shareholders have taken to X to ask Tesla CEO Elon Musk to “share five things you did for Tesla shareholders this week.” The statement echoes the CEO’s treatment of government workers through the Department of Government Efficiency, which asked civil servants last week to list five accomplishments they made that week in order to keep their jobs. Fortune

Former Barclays’ CEO to appeal Epstein-related ruling
Starting Monday, former Barclays’ CEO Jes Staley will appeal a UK ban barring him from holding senior management positions at financial services firms for misleading regulators about his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Staley maintains he had no knowledge of Epstein’s sex crimes despite visiting Epstein’s private island multiple times. Fortune

From the analysts

• Wedbush on Amazon’s Ocelot quantum chip: “This news follows recent announcement by Google and MSFT highlighting their efforts in quantum computing. While this newsflow has seemingly meaningfully increased attention being paid to quantum computing (as have the massive computing needs of AI), we would note that Amazon's Oskar Painter (head of quantum hardware) suggested the technology is still a decade away from commercial use,” per Matt Bryson and Antoine Legault.
• Saxo on Nvidia: “Nvidia’s latest quarterly sales are bigger than its entire annual revenue from just two years ago ... but with the stock already reflecting sky-high growth expectations, investors were hoping for an even bigger beat. Some analysts had anticipated a guidance figure north of USD 45 billion, and while Nvidia delivered strong numbers, it wasn’t the ‘blowout’ some were hoping for. As a result, the reaction in the stock has been minimal despite record-breaking revenue. This reflects a classic ‘priced-for-perfection’ scenario,” per Jacob Falkencrone.
• Wedbush on Nvidia: “We saw few (if any) blemishes in NVDA's quarter or outlook, with both our FY'26 and FY'27 estimates lifting following the call. And with seemingly only good news ahead: the March GTC conference, ramping Blackwell projects → accelerating revenue growth, and large sovereign investments that could/should boost the intermediate term outlook; we see numerous catalysts that should bolster the stock. Net, we are reiterating our OUTPERFORM and $175 PT,” per Daniel Ives et al.

Around the watercooler