iDE was founded in 1982 by Paul Polak, a Denver, Colorado psychiatrist who promoted the concept of helping poor people become entrepreneurs instead of simply giving them handouts.

Originally, iDE was devoted to the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of affordable, scalable micro-irrigation and low-cost water recovery systems throughout the developing world.

Recently, their success is in the promotion of sanitation products (simple latrines, ceramic water filters) to decrease the practice of open defecation leading to diarrheal disease.

[3] With funding from more than 110 donors, including USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, SDC, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CIDA, DFID, and the World Bank, iDE has implemented more than 275 projects worldwide.

iDE invests in the design and initial promotion of affordable irrigation equipment, such as pumps, drip systems, and water storage, and engages the private sector to sustain the necessary supply chains.

iDE provides support to FBAs through training, bulk purchasing power, credit access, market information, and promotion while ensuring standards for product and service quality are maintained.

This approach avoids the use of direct subsidies for hardware or installation, instead creating demand for sanitation products and services by promoting them through innovative means that align with the goals and aspirations of the target market.

[9] iDE has country programs in 3 continents and 11 countries: Asia Africa Latin America As of late 2016, iDE estimates that it has improved incomes for more than 26 million people[10] and catalyzed the commercial distribution of some 2.5 million irrigation technologies, which, on average, produce $150 of additional income annually.

Over the last five years, iDE has facilitated the sale of 222,000 WASH technologies, benefiting over 1 million people, improving health and saving money previously spent on treatment.