私募股权投资公司到底创不创造新的就业机会？人们对这个问题已经进行过很多的讨论。因此，现在我们非常有必要强调一个实例，即就业机会不仅无可争议地创造出来，而且新招聘的员工是贫困的农民。而且，参与其中的私募股权投资公司投入的是时间、而不是金钱。

    下面就是这个“腰果”故事的简要情况：

    去年10月，KKR集团开办了新加坡办事处。不久之后，该集团亚太公共事务总监史蒂夫•奥肯开始寻求跟一家本地机构进行合作，以开展一项企业社会责任行动。于是，他开始跟亚洲社会效应投资交易所（Impact Investment Exchange Asia，以下简称IIX）磋商，后者是一家通过投资专注于社会部门发展的机构。不过，IIX拒绝了奥肯，称自己曾吃过投资银行的亏，因为它们启动了项目，结果等到出现了大型的新银行交易项目就半途而废了（IIX知道大型银行交易对投行意味着什么，因为它的创始人本身就曾经是投资银行家）。

    奥肯没有放弃，同时承诺KKR的参与将是来自不同办事处的成员（新加坡和澳大利亚），而且将利用夜晚和周末时间进行（只要IIX也愿意）。

    不久，两家机构选定了一个项目：东巴厘岛腰果加工厂（East Bali Cashews），也是巴厘岛第一家大型腰果加工厂。这家工厂以使用环保加工工艺而著称，还从波恩的贫困农村地区雇佣了130名左右的员工。

    东巴厘岛腰果加工厂需要90万美元的新资金，以开设第二家工厂、购买新机器、另外雇佣100名新员工。不过，尽管这家工厂知道如何加工腰果，但对筹集资金几乎毫无经验。

    因此，KKR的三名员工花费数月时间跟东巴厘岛腰果加工厂以及IIX的团队展开合作，以确定需求、撰写商业计划，同时提供一般的业务咨询。然而，KKR没有直接投资，因为它相信，自己最大的价值将是向腰果加工厂管理者传授知识，这样后者就能更加高效地经营、发展他们的业务。最终，腰果加工厂筹到了资金——很大程度上是因为它可以为潜在投资者呈现一份“经KKR审批通过的”商业计划。

    IIX的一家姊妹机构估计，今年每投给东巴厘岛腰果加工厂1美元，它就能创造额外24美分的社会价值。

    奥肯认为，这对有志于企业社会责任行动的私募股权投资公司来说是有益的一课：“没错，大家尽可以花一天时间为养老院刷油漆，这是大好事。但私募股权投资公司拥有独一无二的技能，可以用来提供一种知识基础，从而帮助社会企业。这其中拥有的价值要长远得多。”（财富中文网）

    译者：王灿均  

    There has been lots of discussion about how private equity firms do (or don't) create new jobs, so today it's worth highlighting an instance in which jobs not only were indisputably created, but the new hires were poor rural villagers. Moreover, the participating private equity firm invested time rather than money.

    Here's the story in a nutshell (pun soon to become apparent):

    Soon after Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) opened its Singapore office last October, director of Asia public affairs Steve Okun began looking for a local organization with whom the firm could partner on a corporate social responsibility (CSR) effort. So he began holding discussions with Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX), a group that focuses on social sector development via investment. But IIX turned Okun down, saying it previously had been burned by investment banks that began projects and then dropped them once a big new banking deal came along (IIX knew of what it spoke, since it was founded by investment bankers).

    Okun persisted, and promised that KKR's involvement would be with members of different offices (Singapore and Australia), and that it would be on nights and weekends (so long as IIX would do the same).

    Soon the two groups settled on a project: East Bali Cashews, Bali's first large-scale cashew processing facility. The company is known for using environmentally-friendly processes and employs around 130 people in the impoverished village of Bon.

    What East Bali needed was $900,000 in fresh capital, in order to build a second factory, purchase new machines and hire 100 new workers. But while it knew how to process cashews, it had very little experience raising money.

    So three KKR staffers spent months working with the East Bali and IIX teams on identifying needs, writing a business plan and providing general business counsel. It did not, however, directly invest – believing that its highest value would be imparting its knowhow with East Bali Cashew executives so they could more effectively run and grow their business. In the end, the company raised its money – in no small part because it could present a "KKR-vetted" business plan to potential investors.

    A sister organization to IIX estimates that for every dollar invested in East Bali Cashew activities this year, the company created an additional 24 cents in social value.

    Okun argues that this is the lesson for private equity firms interested in CSR: "Yes, you can go spend the day painting a nursing home. And that's great. But private equity has unique skills that can be used to provide a base of knowledge that can help a social enterprise, and there is far more long-term value in that."