Paul Polak is taking a well deserved break this week, but will be back and writing next week. We wanted to take this opportunity to introduce those of you who are new to the work Paul has done to three of the organizations Paul has founded of co-founded. IDE, D-REV and most recently Windhorse International are three organizations that test the ideas written about in Paul’s revolutionary book Out of Poverty.
IDE (International Development Enterprises)
IDE’s origins as a formal organization lie in a visit to a Somalian refugee camp in 1982. It was there that founder Paul Polak noticed a critical lack of transport limiting the economic opportunities of refugees who were relying on manual transportation for all commodities. Following the principle “in technology, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” IDE re-engineered the local donkey cart and interested local artisans in manufacturing one with a more efficient center of gravity, using abandoned car parts for affordability. The donkey carts were a success as more than 500 were sold, producing $1 million of net income for cart owners. … Read More on IDE’s history
Paul Co-Founded D-Rev in order to be a part of a revolution in how Designers approach the 90% of the world that goes virtually under served by product designers. D-Rev is helping develop courses and developing ground breaking products that serve $2 dollar a day and less customers. For more visit the Design Revolutions Web Site…
Windhorse International
Paul founded Windhorse International as a way to prove that there is a vast untapped market that has been virtually ignored. Seeking to serve this vast market and make multi-national companies take notice of respectable profit margins. Designs are needed but to realize the vision and dream Paul has carried of a billion people leaving poverty business and quality design needs to reach scale. Windhorse International is still not being publicized, but is looking to make some important contributions through it’s products and approaches. Windhorse is in Beta testing for it’s products and seeking funding to reach scale efficiently and effectively. (For more check out this article in Bloomberg Businesss Week)