The Blue Sweater

The Blue Sweater is at once a deeply personal coming-of-age story of a young idealist and a call to action to all those concerned with growing inequality around the globe. Jacqueline Novogratz relates her experiences over two decades, first in Africa and later in India and Pakistan. The people she meets and the stories she tells are a testament the indomitable quality of the human spirit and the power of hope and optimism to create real change.

Like so many young people today, Jacqueline gave up a career on Wall Street for a chance to change the world and pursue a life of adventure. Trained as an international banker and development expert, seven years ago she founded Acumen Fund. Together Novogratz and Acumen Fund have pioneered a “third way” -- called "patient capital" -- between venture capitalism and traditional charity, one that seeks to effect real change in countries where the average citizen lives on less than $4 a day. This new approach regards people living on limited incomes not as passive victims, but as potential customers and budding business people in their own right.