Most of us look at the 1 billion men, women, and children in the world who live on less than a dollar a day and see poor people. Paul Polak sees market failure. He sees 1 billion potential entrepreneurs who would rather earn money than accept handouts, if given the opportunity. And if companies would develop the products these people needed, he sees 1 billion potential customers as well.
It may seem obvious that poor people are poor because they don't have enough income, but most anti-poverty programs don't actually focus on helping people earn more. "So much money is wasted on big infrastructure projects and government-run programs," says Polak, from his airy office in Denver. "We need to change the way we approach development. We need to see the poor as customers rather than charity recipients." On a roll, he adds, "we need a revolution in how multinationals design, price, and market their products. There is a huge virgin market out there!"
"Windhorse is a combination of disruptive technologies and microfranchising," he says, offering the example of a "Windhorse Energy" franchise. The company has developed a cheap device made of plywood and mylar that will reflect sunrays on a solar panel, intensifying the light by a power of 10. The concentrator essentially turns a 20-watt solar panel into a 200-watt unit for marginally higher cost. Customers who buy the $200 setup become micro-utilities, reselling the electricity to anyone who needs to charge, for instance, a cell phone or a motorcycle battery and, says Polak, earning back their initial investment within six months.
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