What International Development Enterprises(iDE) does

International Development Enterprises (iDE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit international development organization founded in 1982 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with affiliated entities in the UK and Canada and field operations across 12 countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, and Central America. Its core model is a market-based approach to poverty alleviation: iDE designs and deploys agricultural, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), gender-equity, and climate-resilience interventions through local entrepreneurs — most prominently a global network of Farm Business Advisors (FBAs) who serve as last-mile extension agents linking smallholder farmers to inputs, finance, and buyers. Methodological assets include the Human-Centered Design Toolkit co-developed with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Infinite Model livelihood framework, and the Market System Resilience Index (MSRI) for tracking market-system health in rural contexts.

iDE's revenue model is donor-dependent: grants and contributions from foundations (Gates, Ford, Packard, Anderson, Paul Polak Innovation Fund), bilateral and multilateral government agencies (USAID, EU, NZ MFAT, Global Affairs Canada, Dutch MFA, Embassy of Switzerland, Danida), corporations (The Toro Company, Zinpro, Queen City), and individual donors via the Activators Circle monthly giving program. End beneficiaries — smallholder farmers, rural households lacking sanitation, and women micro-entrepreneurs — do not pay for services. iDE operates through directly implemented country programs, government partnerships, and a portfolio of wholly-owned social enterprises (Hydrologic in Cambodia for ceramic water filters, Sama Sama in Ghana for fecal sludge management, iDEal Tecnologias in Nicaragua for irrigation, Lors Thmey in Cambodia for agriculture, and SHE Powered by iDE for women entrepreneurs across eight countries). Program scale signals include 410,000+ latrines installed in Cambodia via SMSU, 238,777 households and 1,148,555 individuals impacted in Vietnam, 300+ FBAs trained in Zambia, and a stated goal of transforming 20 million lives with a target 10x social return on every donor dollar deployed.

Name

International Development Enterprises(iDE)

Legal name

International Development Enterprises

Website

https://ideglobal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

iDE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1982 that uses market-based approaches to alleviate rural poverty across 12 countries, empowering smallholder farmers, rural entrepreneurs, and women through programs in agriculture, WASH, gender equity, and climate resilience, funded by institutional donors and foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding and Grants: iDE is a non-profit organization funded primarily by international donors, foundations, and government development agencies. Support comes from organizations seeking to help families thrive and communities prosper through entrepreneurship.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

iDE designs, funds, and implements market-based development programs and social enterprises that increase incomes for rural smallholder farmers and expand access to water, sanitation, and climate-resilient technologies in 12 low-income countries across Africa, Asia, and Central America. Core activities include the Farm Business Advisors last-mile extension network, gender-focused business incubation (SHE), the Sanitation Marketing Scale-Up (SMSU) program, and climate-smart agriculture initiatives, delivered in partnership with governments and funded through grants from bilateral and multilateral aid agencies and foundations.

Product overview

iDE operates as an international development organization focused on powering entrepreneurs to end poverty through market-based approaches. The organization offers a portfolio of programs and social enterprises rather than a unified software product. Key offerings include SHE Powered by iDE (gender-focused business incubator), the Sanitation Marketing Scale-Up (SMSU) program, Climate Smart Commercial Horticulture (CSmart), and the Farm Business Advisors (FBAs) network. Additionally, iDE manages several social enterprises including Hydrologic (water filters in Cambodia), Sama Sama (fecal sludge management in Ghana), and iDEal Tecnologias (irrigation technology in Nicaragua). The organization also provides methodological frameworks like the Infinite Model for livelihood development and the Human-Centered Design Toolkit for product development in low-income contexts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SHE Powered by iDE: Gender-focused business incubator, the first in Cambodia, now supporting more than 2,600 female entrepreneurs globally across eight countries.
• iDEal Tecnologias
• Hydrologic
• Sama Sama
• Lors Thmey

Products and services

• SHE Powered by iDE Gender-focused business incubator providing business training, mentorship, and market access support to female entrepreneurs in low-income countries; has supported more than 2,622 graduates across its programs.
• Sanitation Marketing Scale-Up (SMSU) iDE Cambodia's flagship market-based sanitation program that facilitated installation of more than 410,000 latrines and delivered improved sanitation to one in five rural Cambodian households.
• Climate Smart Commercial Horticulture (CSmart) Cambodia Five-year program helping horticulture farmers in Cambodia build climate resilience and increase incomes through market-driven horticulture, supporting more than 6,000 farmers across three provinces.
• Farm Business Advisors (FBAs) Network of trained local entrepreneurs providing the last-mile link between agricultural input suppliers and farmers located in remote areas far from commercial centers.
• Hydrologic Social enterprise in Cambodia providing ceramic water filters for households lacking access to clean drinking water; winner of the 2018 Unilever Global Development Award.
• Sama Sama Social enterprise in Ghana leading research into fecal sludge management in rural Africa.
• iDEal Tecnologias Social enterprise in Nicaragua providing farmers with cost-effective agricultural technology and irrigation services, including design, installation, and operator training.
• Drip+ Alliance Alliance convening experts from industry, research, philanthropy, and social enterprises to provide affordable drip irrigation plus a comprehensive set of tools for smallholder farmers.
• Infinite Model Roadmap describing how individuals seeking to participate in the market can move through a process of growth, promoting profitable livelihoods and ending poverty.
• Human-Centered Design (HCD) Toolkit Methodology for organizations working with poor communities to create products and services that are feasible, desirable, and viable, developed with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Market System Resilience Index (MSRI) Index enabling tracking of the resilience of wider market systems in rural contexts, helping adapt market creation approaches to local conditions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10x return on investment for every $1 deployed
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.

• CAREcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 August 2025Global partnership with CARE and IDinsight to expand sanitation in rural areas, aiming to increase access to safe and durable household toilets by harnessing private sector solutions, government investments, community-led financial mechanisms, and rigorous evidence.
• IDinsightcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 August 2025Partnership to measure success and provide rigorous evidence for sanitation expansion in rural Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The Toro CompanynotableGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner whose employees participated in immersion experience in Zambia to learn and engage with iDE programs in the field.
• Queen CitynotableGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership creating a more equitable coffee value chain that respects coffee farmers in producer communities.
• Bext360notableTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership to create pilot program connecting Honduran coffee farmers to every aspect of the value chain through blockchain.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• One Acre Fund: Large nonprofit serving smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa with a market-based input distribution and farmer services model. Directly comparable to iDE's Farm Business Advisor approach and smallholder farmer segment.
• TechnoServe: International nonprofit that uses market-based approaches to lift people out of poverty, with strong focus on agriculture, entrepreneurship, and economic development in developing countries — overlapping directly with iDE's mission and methodology.
• Heifer International: Global nonprofit focused on ending hunger and poverty through sustainable agriculture and livestock value chains for smallholder farmers, particularly in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Closely comparable agriculture and rural livelihoods mandate.
• Self-Help Africa: International development NGO working with smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa using market-based approaches. Directly overlaps with iDE's geographic and programmatic footprint.
• Farm Africa: UK-based charity focused on reducing poverty in eastern Africa through market-focused agricultural programs, sustainable natural resource management, and value chain development — comparable model and geography to iDE.
• Grameen Foundation: Nonprofit focused on poverty alleviation through market-based approaches and digital financial services for rural smallholder farmers. Shares iDE's entrepreneur-empowerment philosophy and last-mile service delivery orientation.

Broad incumbents

• BRAC: One of the world's largest development organizations with programs spanning agriculture, WASH, microfinance, and gender across multiple developing countries. Overlaps with iDE's agriculture and WASH mandate but operates at significantly larger scale with broader scope.
• CARE International: Major international humanitarian organization with extensive programs in agriculture, WASH, and gender equity. Now a formal iDE partner (August 2025), overlapping substantially with iDE's WASH and smallholder farmer work.
• Mercy Corps: Global humanitarian and development organization operating in agriculture, economic recovery, and WASH across dozens of countries. Comparable broad mandate and donor-funded model, though with stronger humanitarian emergency focus than iDE.

Emerging players

• WaterAid: International nonprofit focused exclusively on water, sanitation, and hygiene access in developing countries. Overlaps with iDE's WASH work (particularly SMSU and Madagascar sanitation) but specializes rather than diversifying across agriculture and gender.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ideorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ide-international-development-enterprises
• Facebookfacebook.com/319237928848

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Development Enterprises(iDE)