We all need to be Unreasonable.

On Wednesday here in Washington, D.C, I was fortunate to attend the first day of UnreasonableAtState. The event was a really great opportunity for entrepreneurs from around the world to pitch their products to an audience at the State Department and from the broader international development and investor community.

The event showcased fifteen entrepreneurs from around the world who have designed technologies to combat important development challenges. It was great to see these entrepreneurs use their talents to pitch products and services that are designed to compete in the private sector. I have always been uncomfortable with technologies that are designed from afar and then rolled-out by non-governmental organizations or charities, often for free, that aim to solve development challenges. These initiatives regularly fail because the technologies aren't designed for the correct context or are over-designed, but are rolled out based on good intentions. The products presented at UnreasonableAtState were designed to compete in the open market place and were designed (for the most part) within the context which they would be used and sold. Operating in the private sector ensures the products will fail if the products aren't wanted or don't suit the need/solve the particular problem - which is what should happen to bad products.

I won't comment on the technologies specifically, I just suggest you check them out here: http://unreasonableatstate.com/companies/

[if I allow my engineering curiousity and excitement for cool stuff to come out, check out the companies: Damascus Fortune and Protei. I was also excited about: Inventure (credit scores for those without formailized banking services); Guru-G (tool for training teachers) and Aunt Bertha (tool for citizens to find out which social services are available in their neighbourhood/community)]

I also wanted to draw attention and send kudos to the State Department on partnering on the event. They partnered with a group called Unreasonale (check them out here: http://unreasonableinstitute.org/ ), which I noticed seems to have a very similar value set as Engineers Without Borders (the organization I work for). It is brave for a large institution to partner with a group as different from typical, as Unreasonable (as the name suggests!). It also appreciated that it took just four months to make the two-day event happen. The co-founder of Unreasonable, Daniel Epstein, approached the State Department just four-months before the event, and they were able to pull if off very successfully.

There is huge value in the government being this nimble, trying something new, partnering with a dynamic group like Unresonable, and giving the entrepreneurs a great opportunity to pitch their products at the State Department. There is also a lot of value in seeing this as a diplomatic tool - providing incredible entrepreneurs and growing leaders from around to interact with the US in such a positive way, will (I assume) pay huge dividends in promoting the image of the US abroad - it definitely fits Hilary Clinton's citizen diplomacy vision and model.

We need much more of this in foreign policy and international development.

[P.S. Also, the entrepreneurs had just come off of a voyage at sea. An incredible opportunity to have entrepreneurs and innovators spend time together to rapidly launch them forward. Check this out at:
UnreasonableAtSea: unreasonableatsea.com ]