First Acumen Fellows meeting in Spain

PAULA SIERRA

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Open Value Foundation

A few weeks have passed since we returned from the first in-person seminar of the Acumen Fellows Program in Spain, which brought together the first cohort of fellows in our country for five days in Bilbao.

En Bilbao, las 24 personas que forman parte de la primera cohorte del programa de Acumen Fellows en España estuvieron acompañadas por los facilitadores, entre los que se encontraban Laura Ruiz (Leadership Manager de Acumen en Colombia) y Luis Aymá (profesor de la Universidad Complutense y miembro de la Fundación López Quintás), que fueron los encargados de dinamizar el encuentro y trasladar las herramientas, mentalidades y enfoques de liderazgo de Acumen (voz auténtica, liderazgo adaptativo, lecturas de la buena sociedad, gestión de polaridades y pensamiento sistémico).

Una experiencia única y transformadora

Para los facilitadores, trabajar con el grupo de fellows en este primer seminario fue una experiencia única. En sus propias palabras, “son personas que han decidido dedicar su vida al cambio social, están bien posicionadas para crear ese cambio y en pleno viaje para crecer como líderes al servicio de ese cambio. Es imposible juntarse con este grupo de individuos y no quedar tocado por sus ganas, su generosidad y su compromiso”.

Pero es para los 24 elegidos para formar parte de la comunidad de fellows de Acumen para quienes la experiencia fue realmente transformadora. En el primer seminario presencial, los fellows se embarcaron en la aventura de la autorreflexión. Fueron levantando las distintas capas que componen la personalidad de cada uno con humildad y honestidad. En las capas más profundas, están las cosas más difíciles de ver, las fortalezas y debilidades que nos hacen ser quienes somos, nuestra ‘verdad’. Una verdad, a menudo invisible e ignorada, que es necesario conocer y asimilar para emprender un verdadero camino de cambio y crecimiento personal.

El encuentro sirvió también para generar y reforzar el sentimiento de comunidad que caracteriza al programa. Los lazos de amistad y confianza que hoy unen a los miembros de la primera cohorte de fellows en España les permitirán, a lo largo de los próximos meses, cuestionarse y crecer como personas y como líderes. La experiencia de la cohorte es la que posibilita que cada cual encuentre su ‘verdad’ y construya a partir de ahí. Estar en un ambiente de confianza y de retroalimentación, entre aliados con un propósito común, permitirá a cada integrante del grupo ir superando obstáculos y miedos hasta sacar a flote la mejor versión de sí mismo.

Una nueva familia para los fellows

Tras el seminario, les preguntamos qué suponía para ellos formar parte del Programa de Fellows de Acumen. Araceli Rodríguez, por ejemplo, ha encontrado en el programa “una nueva familia que cuida de ti y te acompaña para conseguir tus sueños, desde la generosidad, el respeto y la humildad.” Para Manuel Lencero, la palabra que define el programa de fellows de Acumen es ‘hermanamiento’. “Este programa te permite conectar con seres afines a ti y crear un espacio único de debate y formación que ayuda al grupo en su visión y a ti en tu crecimiento personal”. Para Juan Barbed el programa es “un abrazo, la red que te atrapa en esa caída libre en la que a veces nos sentimos, ayudándote con generosidad y humildad a hermanarte con tu sentir y el de los demás.”

Debido a la situación que vivimos en España por la crisis del COVID-19, durante las próximas semanas y meses no podremos juntarnos físicamente. Hemos tenido que posponer los seminarios presenciales y adaptar el contenido del programa a las circunstancias. No está siendo sencillo, pero gracias al programa y, sobre todo, a la gente que lo compone, las dificultades pasan desapercibidas. Hoy, a pesar de la distancia que nos separa, nos sentimos más cerca que nunca y con aun más ganas, si cabe, de seguir trabajando juntos para provocar cambios que nos lleven a un mundo mejor. 


Sabemos que en España hay muchas personas comprometidas con dejar un mundo mejor del que encontraron y trabajando por que así sea. ¿Eres una de ellas? ¿Conoces a alguien que lo sea? Haz clic aquí para saber más acerca del Acumen Fellows Program.

We open
opportunities

We open sustainable economic opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa and Spain, combining strategic donations and impact investment.
with the purpose of improving the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people.

Impact investment

Our aim is to help social enterprises and organisations become profitable and scale up their impact by providing patient capital, technical support and partnerships.

Strategic Philanthropy

We fund projects that align with our purpose, focusing resources on job creation for individuals with fewer opportunities, which in some cases can be transformed into loans and generate returns.

Our Programmes

Acumen Academy Spain

Acumen Academy Spain

It is a training programme in social leadership that aims to foster a new generation of change agents who are challenged to solve society's most complex issues, providing them with tools and resources to help them develop new solutions and build a more just, inclusive and sustainable world.

who are already part of this community
0 fellows
created in Spain in recent years
0 cohorts

Our Programmes

Foundation Fund

Foundation Fund

It is an initiative aimed at encouraging non-profit organisations to allocate part of their capital or budgets to strengthening high-impact projects through venture philanthropy and impact investment. To this end, they have a training programme and an investment vehicle for joint investment.

in the investment vehicle
+ 0 foundations
in different Spanish social enterprises
+ 0 k invested

Driving the impact ecosystem in Spain and beyond

Since 2017, María Ángeles León has played a key role in promoting a culture of purpose-driven and financially disciplined investment.



Her leadership has helped to change the way in which capital is mobilised for social change, not only as a funding tool, but as a driving force for transformation.

Open Value was founded on a long-term commitment to making a difference by its founders, María Ángeles León and Francisco García Paramés. For more than 25 years, they have dedicated part of their personal wealth to initiatives that improve the lives of vulnerable communities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Initially, through traditional philanthropy, they later adopted more sustainable approaches, inspired by pioneers like Acumen and Yunus Social Business. That journey gave rise to the Open Value Foundation (OVF) in 2017.

We open minds

Our work goes further; we understand that to generate real change, we must shift mindsets and create knowledge about the effectiveness of our model.

We unlock and mobilise capital for social impact investment and Venture Philanthropy, opening new doors and weaving strategic collaborative networks.

We open
opportunities

We open sustainable economic opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa and Spain, combining strategic donations and impact investment.
with the purpose of improving the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people.

Impact investment

Our aim is to help social enterprises and organisations become profitable and scale up their impact by providing patient capital, technical support and partnerships.

Strategic Philanthropy

We fund projects that align with our purpose, focusing resources on job creation for individuals with fewer opportunities, which in some cases can be transformed into loans and generate returns.

We open
minds

Our work goes further; we understand that to generate real change, we must shift mindsets and create knowledge about the effectiveness of our model.

We unlock and mobilise capital for social impact investment and Venture Philanthropy, opening new doors and weaving strategic collaborative networks.

Impact Stories – Minds

The global school for social change pioneering in Spain

The global school for social change pioneering in Spain

Acumen Academy Spain

It is a training programme in social leadership that aims to foster a new generation of change agents who are challenged to solve society's most complex issues, providing them with tools and resources to help them develop new solutions and build a more just, inclusive and sustainable world.

fellows
0
cohorts
0

We unlock and mobilise capital for social impact investment and Venture Philanthropy, opening new doors and weaving strategic collaborative networks.

We open
minds

Our work goes further; we understand that to generate real change, we must shift mindsets and create knowledge about the effectiveness of our model.

We open
opportunities

We are committed to a long-term approach with social entrepreneurs to help their initiatives grow through a hybrid financial model that combines grants with other impact investment instruments and technical assistance.

Impact Investment

Our aim is to help social enterprises and organisations become profitable and scale up their impact by providing patient capital, technical support and partnerships.

Strategic Philanthropy

We fund projects that align with our purpose, focusing resources on job creation for individuals with fewer opportunities, which in some cases can be transformed into loans and generate returns.

Impact Stories – Minds

We form, invest in, and support social projects to generate social impact.

We form, invest in, and support social projects to generate social impact.

Foundation Fund

It is an initiative aimed at encouraging non-profit organisations to allocate part of their capital or budgets to strengthening high-impact projects through venture philanthropy and impact investment. To this end, they have a training programme and an investment vehicle for joint investment.

in the investment vehicle
+ 0 foundations
invested
+ 0 k

Impact Story – Strategic Philanthropy

Transforming school nutrition, strengthening communities.

Transforming school nutrition, strengthening communities.

Plumbee, Kenia

Social enterprise that produces nutritious porridges for school-aged children using local crops, especially
pumpkins
cultivated by women farmers. Their model improves child nutrition while generating income and training opportunities for the producers. The company is building a large-scale plant to expand its reach and distribute its food in schools and local retail outlets.

trained women farmers
+ 0 women
they have received their nutritious food
0 children

Impact Story – Impact Investment

Access to housing for vulnerable groups.

Access to housing for vulnerable groups.

Primero H, Spain

It is Spain's first social SOCIMI, created to increase access to affordable rental housing for people experiencing housing vulnerability and homelessness, combining impact investment with social action to develop a stable portfolio of decent homes.

where people who were previously homeless now live.
0 Housing
invested
0 millions €

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We open
minds

Our work goes further; we understand that to generate real change, we must shift mindsets and create knowledge about the effectiveness of our model.

We unlock and mobilise capital for social impact investment and Venture Philanthropy, opening new doors and weaving strategic collaborative networks.

We open
opportunities

We open sustainable economic opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa and Spain, combining strategic donations and impact investment.
with the purpose of improving the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people.

Impact investment

Our aim is to help social enterprises and organisations become profitable and scale up their impact by providing patient capital, technical support and partnerships.

Strategic Philanthropy

We fund projects that align with our purpose, focusing resources on job creation for individuals with fewer opportunities, which in some cases can be transformed into loans and generate returns.