Idea Day: Designing a Future of Prosperity
A Human-Centered Approach to AI for Good
If you’ve been amazed by the rapid pace of technology change recently—well, so have I. But fasten your seat belts, because it’s only accelerating. Yesterday’s science fiction is today’s routine experience. And increasingly, these experiences are powered by some form of AI.
As someone who spent most of my career in tech, I like thinking about how this new technology works. But honestly, most people don’t. They just want to get things done. At Opportunity, we try to ground everything we do in helping our clients get the things they care about done—helping farmers grow more, helping teachers with lesson planning, helping microentrepreneurs run their businesses better. We want technology to serve people, not the other way around. And we’ve found that we can design AI-driven solutions which really help.
When you’ve used a product or a service that seemed perfectly designed for you—that surprised or delighted you in some way—there’s a high probability that it was created using a method known as Human Centered Design (HCD for short). This method starts with creating ‘personas’ which are composites of real people. These personas help us understand their challenges, needs, hopes, and goals, and we refer to them as we envision solutions that match these realities. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google owe much of their success to HCD. They design products that fit seamlessly into our lives and, in doing so, transform how we work, play, and interact with the world.
HCD isn’t just for digital experiences. The same principles and client understanding helped us shape our first microloans in 1971—we had to come up with creative solutions to serve the needs of our clients, when no one else would serve them.
Within a few weeks of OpenAI releasing ChatGPT, we were testing concepts of how it might answer questions for farmers in Malawi. Our prior HCD work helped us understand the importance of instant, accurate answers to farming questions. Within a day of testing our first prototype, we knew we were on to something big. Within a few months we’d created UlangiziAI, a WhatsApp-based AI chatbot for smallerholder farmers in Malawi. In less than a year, it has already impacted the lives of thousands—providing farmers with authoritative information tailored specifically to meet their needs. The chatbot helps smallholder farmers learn better ways to increase their yields, adapt to weather conditions, and earn a better living.
Considering UlangiziAI’s success—and the rapid pace at which we saw generative AI improving—we began contemplating the incredible transformative power this technology can have on achieving a world without poverty. But what will be the most effective, the most impactful interventions? To determine this, we needed a repeatable process which engaged our staff around the world—especially those who work directly with clients daily.
Creating the ideas that will change the world
Enter the Collaboration Laboratory (CoLab), Opportunity’s impact accelerator. In 2024 we ran our first cycle, combining rapid idea creation with an incubator model and field testing to find the best ideas and make them work.
But any great innovation has a beginning—it always starts with an idea. Kicking off our 2025 CoLab, we begin with Idea Day.
The best ideas for innovation typically come from the people who work most closely with clients or customers, so Idea Day is a global convening that brings all of our staff together for a simultaneous session to learn about the people we serve and develop real understanding and empathy. We ask our teammates to relate their personal experiences with their clients and think about the challenges and hardships that they face. Then we review the most recent advances in AI, and brainstorm practical solutions. By the end of the session, we’re hearing ‘pitches’ about the next innovation we should build.
This is an amazing experience. In 2024, our first year—175 people in 14 countries generated 212 ideas in one day. Over time, and with the help of experts from the private sector and academia, we whittle down those ideas to a handful of incredible prototypes that we send to pilot. 2024's winners included a more personalized and powerful form of Farmer AI, a Teacher’s Assistant for lesson planning, and a tool for entrepreneur school owners to help improve their schools and student outcomes.
It’s truly inspiring to see this kind of creativity and teamwork, and I’m sure we’re going to find more incredible ideas in 2025.
Intentional Design Grounded in Real Understanding
Our CoLab has a mindset of continuous idea generation and refinement, and everyone who participates knows that their idea could end up having a large impact on the lives of many people. What could be more exciting than that?
The pace of change means we always have new tools to use and new approaches to consider. But most importantly, we’re leading with our mission, our purpose, and our clients front of mind. Thanks to the hundreds of humanitarian staff in our ranks, we have a veritable gold mine of perspective and experience as it pertains to our clients. These are the people you want designing new AI innovations, because they are the ones who have been fighting for a better world their entire careers.
The challenges ahead may seem daunting, but technology has never before been as transformative as what we are seeing with AI. Combining that level of impact with the expertise and ideas from our staff has the potential for truly incredible outcomes. I could be more excited for where this year’s Idea Day will take us, and I can’t wait to have you join us along the way.