"What you saw even before the Nobel Prize was people starting to look at Silicon Valley and seeing whether there could be more innovative ways of using philanthropic resources for change," she told Reuters in an interview.
The Acumen Fund now has $20 million invested in East Africa, Pakistan and India in firms ranging from an ambulance service in Bombay to a mosquito net factory in Tanzania.
It operates at the other end of the scale from Kiva, investing money from the likes of Bill and Melinda Gates, the Rockefeller Foundation and companies including Nike
Novogratz said Acumen seeks socially responsible businesses with potential to expand rapidly and become self-sustaining, targeting health care, housing, water and energy.
Among its projects, entrepreneur Satyan Mishra in Delhi set up drishtee.com, a franchise of village kiosks selling goods such as eyeglasses, books and agricultural products and services such as computer training and health advice.
"He's growing at a rate of three new kiosks a day and our goal is to get to 10,000 kiosks in the next couple of years," Novogratz said.
She said such loans were not intended to supplant traditional aid institutions, especially in post-conflict situations or after disasters.
In another project in India, Novogratz said a company was delivering cheap water to 160,000 people in 61 villages.
"When we first entered that field, the whole conversation in India was 'Is water a human right that should be given free to everyone or should you let the market deliver it?' And the point was 700 million people had no access," she said.
Research is now under way to see if the business model can be scaled up and made to work for the public sector.
Measurable results are the key for new philanthropists, she said. "We have over 200 individuals who give to Acumen. No one has ever said 'Is my name going on a building?'"
Small lenders are just as concerned with results, Shah said, noting that Kiva posts repayment histories online as well as journals by the business owners on how their loan was used.
"What's mind blowing for my Mom and her friends in Chicago is the fact that you're getting repaid, because you don't expect it when you give," Shah said.
And, he said, while the new philanthropy is closer to banking than charity, "You still get that warm fuzzy (feeling) of knowing that you're helping."
