“I run alongside, cheering her on.” This is how iDE Canada board member Lindsay Poggemiller Smith describes her mentorship with Polak Fund winner Abdul Rahman Hamidatu. Hamidatu won a Fail Fast Grant worth $20,000. She is testing her big idea that using recycled plastics in the construction of toilet facilities will make them more affordable …
Ethiopia Ghana Nepal Newsletter Zambia
Every parent knows that caring for young children doesn’t leave you with time that is truly your own. In the case of mothers who are pursuing entrepreneurship, time can be the difference between just getting by and creating a better future. In 2021, a Paul Polak Innovation Fund Spark Grant was awarded for the development …
Ethiopia Ghana Newsletter Zambia
Ired Chuumbwe, 46, is focused on growth, not only for herself and the five children she’s raising as a single mother, but also for her community. As a Farm Business Advisor, or FBA, she works with more than 200 farmers, providing women with training in Conservation Agriculture, post-harvest management, and food processing and preservation. These …
Want to know what’s percolating with the Paul Polak Innovation Fund? The fund provides grants to test and implement our locally-led solutions, including two grants already awarded this year. The first reflects an evolution of an existing partnership between iDE and Denver, Colorado’s Queen City Collective Coffee. Together, they’re creating a more equitable supply chain …
Riding a bike is about balance, and for P.L. and Kristen Meindertsma, their upcoming journey will be about finding balance in extraordinary circumstances. P.L. was turning 50 and feeling lost. “I was searching for meaning. I found myself questioning that there must be more to life than this,” said P.L., who chose to abbreviate his …
When Hamidatu, a Customer Sales Agent with iDE Ghana heard that she’d received one of five $15,000 (USD) Fail Fast grants, she couldn’t stop dancing and weeping with joy. “I’m so excited about this! I can’t wait to bring it to the world!” She noticed that people in Ghana were having a really hard time …
Because you care, children in Zambia are learning about foods that will keep their bodies healthy and strong, and how to grow their own vegetables! At the Lukomba Secondary School, each student has a small garden plot they’re taught to take care of. And when they successfully grow vegetables, they get to take them home …
10/2022 — Bolgatanga, Upper East Region, Ghana There are many beautiful places in Ghana. This is not one of them. I’ve just arrived at the municipal dump outside Bolgatanga. When I step out of the car, the smell hits me right away — rolling off the heaps of garbage in the morning heat. But not …
And it’s thanks to the generosity of caring people like you. FROM: Ebenezer J. Atsugah, Managing Director,Sama Sama, Ghana West AfricaTO: Stu Taylor, iDE Canada Dear Stu,We hit our 10,000 toilet sales order on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. We just can’t keep calm but congratulate ourselves for the success! We started the sales journey back …
How your generosity has multiplied 20x for female farmers in Ethiopia After two years of no international travel, we were so excited to be back in Ethiopia. We met with a special group of women who iDE brought together to grow seed potatoes for income in 2014. iDE hasn’t been involved with them for the …
