Harnessing the power of design and design thinking in crafting business models and scaling social enterprises is foundation of Impact Edge, the incubator/accelerator program being launched by my host and summer boss, Jacob. Jacob founded Idiom Design, the premier design and consulting firm in India, which works with diverse clients across sectors. Some notable projects include business schools in Bangalore, the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, and some of the largest Indian retail outlets such as Big Bazaar and Hometown. We visited Idiom for a Spring Health meeting early in July.

As a serial entrepreneur, another one of Jacob’s ventures along with visionary Paul Polak, is Spring Health, a clean drinking water distribution company, revolutionizing the way BoP customers and entrepreneurs are engaged in rural Orissa.  They work in around 50 villages currently, with the ultimate goal of providing safe, affordable drinking water to 2 million customers in 10,000 villages.