While purchasing a magic
carpet was never high on my must-haves list, little did I know that when I
brought my first iPAD home I was in for the ride of my life. While
never having to leave the sweet refuge of my very own bed or easy chair,
I have traveled to places far and wide, my iPAD as my trusty "magic carpet."
I can zoom from one activity to another without ever breaking a sweat. Books? A virtual library at my fingertips. Email? Read and responded. Interior design site? Explored. Recipe for dinner? Found. My latest Wabi-Sabi Life post? Written. Scrabble? Word played. Next! Dinner reservations? Made. Note to self? Jotted. Music to soothe the soul? Playing. Photo? Click. TV or Movie time? Vast selection. Breaking News? Hello New York Times minus news print on my hands. You Tube Videos: Inspire me while I'm brushing my teeth. Ted Talks? Inspire me while I'm dressing. Oh I could rhapsodize endlessly about this marvelous hand-held device that exponentially expands my universe and puts the world at my fingertips, but perhaps you too know the sheer joy of iPAD adventuring.
Although my laptop is able to perform many of the same functions, the truth is that holding this lightweight device easily in my hands, its portability a never ending source of delight, I am able to go anywhere with my beloved iPAD. Because I have embedded Wi-Fi capability, I do not have to depend on locating a hot-spot to connect to the internet. I can slide a switch and obtain instant connectivity wherever I happen to be and have full access to all its charms. Be still my heart!
Here's some help so you can increase the versatility of your iPAD and master much of its potential. Happy travels!
15 Best Free iPAD Apps
29 Things the iPAD Can Do
12 Great Tips Every iPAD Owner Should Know
Hidden Secrets of Your iPAD Revealed
[photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/salochin/8152082564/">@NickyColman</a> via <a>]
Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder and CEO
of Acumen
Fund,
a non-profit global venture capital fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches
to solve the problems of global poverty. Acumen Fund has invested over $50
million of Patient Capital in 50 businesses that have impacted more
than 40 million people in the past year alone. Any money returned to Acumen
Fund is reinvested in enterprises serving the poor.
Currently, Acumen has
offices in New York, Mumbai, Karachi, Nairobi, and Accra. Patient Capital, “takes the best of the markets as well as philanthropy and
aid. Patient Capital is money invested in entrepreneurs building companies and
organizations that solve tough problems like healthcare, water, housing,
alternative energy.”
Patient Capital
investing is a third way to solve tough problems. It bridges the gap between
the efficiency and scale of market-based approaches and the social impact of
pure philanthropy. Patient capital has a high tolerance for risk, has long time
horizons, is flexible to meet the needs of entrepreneurs, and is unwilling to
sacrifice the needs of end customers for the sake of shareholders. At the same
time, patient capital ultimately demands accountability in the form of a return
of capital: proof that the underlying enterprise can grow sustainably in the
long run.
It is creating exciting new business models capable of bringing affordable, life-changing
products and services to the poor. These businesses are transforming the lives
of their customers, and are creating jobs that lead directly to economic
growth.
Starting a new
business is always tough and starting a business in the developing world can be
much tougher. Launching a business that focuses on the needs of the world’s
poorest often seems impossible. Patient Capital is the scarce resource that
allows new, sometimes crazy, potentially world-changing ideas see the light of
day.
Where did Jacqueline find her inspiration? You can read about her journey in her memoir, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in the Interconnected World. It tells the story of a woman who left her career in international banking to spend her life understanding global poverty and how to make effective inroads in its alleviation.
Her story begins back in Virginia where, as a young girl she was given a present of a blue sweater. Beloved and well-worn, she eventually donated it to Goodwill after it no longer fit. Eleven years later, when in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that same sweater, confirmed by her name tag still on the inside. That her beloved sweater made the trek all the way to Rwanda was evidence enough for her that we are all inter-connected.
She shows, in ways both hilarious and heart-breaking, how traditional charity often fails but also how Patient Capital can increase people's self-sufficiency and change the lives of millions. Her story is a call to action that requires us to think differently about how we engage with the world and how "aid" can become an effective turning point in the lives of many living in poverty.
[photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/acumenfund/6005682852/">Acumen Fund</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>]
