Paul Polak
D-Rev: Design for the Other 90%
Paul Polak isn’t your everyday global poverty fighter. He’s a 75 year-old former psychiatrist who believes that the world’s poorest people, most of whom are farmers living on less than $2/day, are capable entrepreneurs and consumers. Because of this belief, he started two non-profit organizations, a for-profit venture, wrote a book, all aimed at harnessing the market to tackle poverty. His non-profits, International Development Enterprises (IDE) and D-Rev, sell affordable income generating technologies to the poor and have moved over 17 million $2/day farmers out of poverty. His for-profit venture, Windhorse International, launched just this year and will demonstrate the impact big business can make in the fight against poverty. Dr. Polak has outlined what he’s learned is effective in combating poverty in his book Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail. For his work, Dr. Polak has received many awards including the Scientific American Top Fifty Award (2003), the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award (2004), the Technology Museum of Innovation’s “Accenture Economic Development Award” (2004), an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the University of Western Ontario (2008), and the Monito del Giardino Prize in Italy (2008).