Nepal

Apps For Development: Lessons From mPowering

Posted by MelissaUlbricht on May 31, 2011

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Apps For Development: Lessons From mPowering data sheet 3201 Views

Non-profit organization mPowering is developing customized mobile apps to help reach the ultra poor -- people living on less than $2 a day -- and connect them with funding opportunities and programs in the developed world.

Reaching individuals and supplying resources in remote regions has huge challenges. The goal of mPowering is to leverage existing mobile infrastructure to open up channels of access. The organization has ongoing programs in Nepal and India which provide incentives to poor individuals for reporting to school or work, via mobile application. The organization is also working to create a mobile donor app to further connect the poor with funding opportunities.

Before a mobile app can be developed and deployed, the mPowering team conducts field research and partners with local institutions. We spoke with Kamael Ann Sugrim, Co-founder and CEO of mPowering, to find out how an app is developed.

Programs in Nepal and India

The mPowering organization is a year old and currently has two programs underway which utilize mobile apps. In Bhaktapur, Nepal, women earn points for reporting to work, and the points can be redeemed for food, clothing, and medicine.

In Orissa, India, 175 children in the village of Juanga earn points for attending school and can redeem the points for food, clothing, and medicine. Teachers have been supplied with donated Android phones with the mPowering application. Through the app, they can “scan” children in for attendance.

Basic Information
Website URL: 
http://mpowering.org/
Organization involved in the project?: 
mPowering
Project goals: 

The goal of mPowering is to help people living below the poverty line by leveraging mobile technology and developing unique mobile applications for development.

Brief description of the project: 

Non-profit organization mPowering is developing customized mobile apps to help reach the ultra poor -- people living on less than $2 a day -- and connect them with funding opportunities and programs in the developed world.

Reaching individuals and supplying resources in remote regions can present challenges. The goal of mPowering is to leverage existing mobile infrastructure to open up channels of access. The organization has ongoing programs in Nepal and India which provide incentives to the poor for reporting to school or work, via mobile application. The organization is also working to create a mobile donor app to further connect the poor with funding opportunities.

Target audience: 

Two ongoing programs are taking place in Bhaktapur, Nepal and Orissa, India. In Nepal, mPowering is working with women, and in India, with school children.

Detailed Information
Status: 
Ongoing
What worked well? : 

Before an mPowering application is developed, such as the one being used in Orissa, the team conducts field research in program locations. Also, parterning has proved key. mPowering employs local individuals to help operate the programs in Nepal and India. The organization also holds training sessions for families and individuals who receive mPowering phones, and supplies phone chargers at check-in locations.

What did not work? What were the challenges?: 

A recurring challenge for mPowering is mobile access and service. In some program locations, service can be limited and it can be difficult to figure out how to collect data via the app. There have been some design challenges, too, which stem from a push versus pull approach.

 



 




  
Voices of Youth


Posted by MelissaUlbricht on Jun 17, 2010





 

        
      
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Voices of Youth data sheet 6170 Views

	
A recently launched campaign at a popular youth radio program in Nepal focuses on the voices of youth - or at least, text messages of youth. Regardless, the SMS campaign seems to be making strides. 

UNICEF in Nepal has teamed up with the popular Nepali radio program Saathi Sanga Man Ka Kura, which means "chatting with my best friend." The program, also called SSMK, is run by the non-governmental organization Equal Access Nepal. SSMK has been on the air for 10 years and reaches millions of youth listeners (primarily ages 13 to 26) throughout Nepal. In April, UNICEF and SSMK launched a campaign that allows young listeners to take an active role in a conversation, all via SMS. 

Rupa Joshi, a communications specialist with UNICEF, explains the origins of the campaign.
Basic Information

      
Website URL: 

    

            

                    http://unicef.org.np/voy/        

        





      
Organization involved in the project?: 

    

            

                    UNICEF        

        





      
Project goals: 

    

            

                    
The goal of the project is to maximise participation of young people and reflect  their voices on issues that affect their lives.

        

        





      
Brief description of the project: 

    

            

                    
UNICEF in Nepal has teamed up with the popular  Nepali radio program, Saathi Sanga Man Ka Kura, which means "chatting  with my best friend." The program, also called SSMK, is run by the  non-governmental organization Equal Access Nepal. SSMK has been on the air  for 10 years and reaches millions of youth listeners (primarily ages 13 to 26) throughout Nepal. In  April, Unicef and SSMK launched a campaign that allows young  listeners to take an active role in a conversation, all via SMS. 


Every week on the  program, the radio team frames a topic or a question and invites the  listeners to respond via a free text message to an established short  code, 4400.  The responses are then posted on a forum on the UNICEF Voices of Youth website.

        

        





      
Target audience: 

    

            

                    
The target audience of the project are the current listeners of the SSMK radio program. It has been on the air  for 10 years and reaches millions of youth listeners, primarily ages 13 to 26, throughout Nepal.

        

        








Detailed Information

      
Status: 

    

            

                    Ongoing        

        





      
What worked well? : 

    

            

                    
The project worked in conjunction with the ongoing success and popularity of the SSMK radio program. It adapted a technology that was highly accessible (and free) to the target audience. Start up and maintenance costs have been relatively low. The project has also benefited from a positive working relationship with a local mobile technology sevice provider to trouble-shoot technical issues that have come up.

        

        





      
What did not work? What were the challenges?: 

    

            

                    
The group has had to perform ongoing fixes to various processes. In its current state, it also requires significant administrative time to monitor and post incoming responses.