The Lemelson Foundation uses the power of invention to improve lives by inspiring and enabling the next generation of inventors and invention-based enterprises to catalyze a stronger U.S. economy and create social and economic change for the poor in developing countries. Established by prolific independent U.S. inventor Jerome Lemelson and his wife Dorothy in the early 1990’s, to date the Foundation has committed more than $210 million in grants in support of its mission. The Foundation’s developing country entrepreneurship activities focus on addressing pressing social and environmental challenges faced by the poor by incubating promising invention-based enterprises, accelerating their growth, and building enduring ecosystems at the local level. Recognizing that new products and businesses alone will not fully address these issues, the Foundation approaches its work with a systems view and cultivates local ecosystems that ensure inventions can create impact in a sustainable way, at scale.