Feature Friday: kiwanja.net, mobile enabled social change

For my first “Feature Friday,” I’ve decided to highlight kiwanja.net for the truly innovative and exciting work they are doing. kiwanja.net helps pioneer new applications of mobile technology to push forward positive social and environmental change in the developing world. kiwanja.net helps “empower local, national, and international non-profit organisations to make better use of information and communications technology in their work.”

kiwanja.net specializes in the application of mobile technology, and provides non-profits with a wide range of ICT-related services. kiwanja.net focuses on non-profits in developing countries, emphasizing “low-cost, grassroots, sustainable solutions.” They provide “free consultancy, workshops and advice – and access to technology through its own initiatives – to all grassroots non-profits interested in exploring the social and environmental potential of mobile in their work.” So far, non-profits in over forty countries have already benefited from the help of kiwanja.

A few of Kiwanja’s Current Projects

FrontlineSMS: kiwanja.net is currently working with FrontlineSMS in research and developing, helping them set up a field communication/SMS system for NGOs. FrontlineSMS itself is a highly innovative initiative, providing an SMS-based communications system for grassroots NGOs. It’s a program that allows people to text message large groups anywhere there is a mobile signal.

Grameen Technology Centre: kiwanja.net is currently working with the Grameen Technology Centre, providing advice and assistance to its “AppLab” initiative in Uganda. AppLab focuses on “developing, testing, strengthening, and scaling mobile applications” that benefit poor people around the world.

nGOmobile Competition: Kiwanja.net is holding a competition designed to encourage grassroots NGOs in developing countries to describe how they can improve their work using mobile technology. NGOs can win prizes like laptop computers, mobile phones, and cash.

The Founder

Ken Banks is the founder of kiwanja.net, and he has a strong background in business, technology, and anthropology. He was a Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow, obtained funding for his projects by the MacArthur Foundation, and was awarded a Fellowship at the Reuters Digital Vision Program at Stanford. He has speaken at workshops and conferences like IDEO, Amnesty International, Mobile World Conference, and more. Check out his bio here!

Why you should check out kiwanja.net

I am a strong believer that innovation and technology can really drive things forward. Mobile technology is making great leaps right now, especially in various parts of Africa and India. Although many remote areas might lack internet access, mobile phones are quite widespread and the use of SMS/texting is common. Innovations like FrontlineSMS are helping to connect people to vital information: farmers to market prices, doctors and health professionals to medical information and advice, etc. I urge you to check out the great work that kiwanja.net and its partner organizations are doing, because there are a lot of exciting developments in this field!

Picture credit: kiwanja.net

http://twitter.com/anish_sinha Anish Sinha

Comprehensive! Infact it is difficult to gauge how quickly the mobile technology has penetrated the developing markets and changed the traditional practices of doing business. It has made social start-ups more realizable and ventures more sustainable.Micro-finance institutions have infact been working to develop models of sustainable mobile micro-finance banking.By the way found these links useful, had come across them sometime back.I think they’ll interest you : http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mobileactive08_using_mobile_web_for_social_action.php
and
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4284

http://akhilak.com/blog Akhila

Thanks Anish! I don’t actually know too much about mobile technology, so thanks for the links – I’ll have to check them out. From my own personal experience in India, mobile technology is spreading throughout the country and reaching even the more remote areas which may not have too much internet access. It seems like a really rapidly expanding industry which provides so many opportunities for social businesses and startups like you said. I think mobile banking is going to be a great tool once it is fully developed – I believe it’s being pioneered actually in east Asia at the moment and engineers are just about on the tip of figuring out the new technology.

http://kiwanja.net/ kiwanja

Thanks for highlighting our work, Akhila! Very much appreciated, and hopefully you’ll be able to return in a few months and do an update – there’s plenty going on here.

Ken

http://akhilak.com/blog Akhila

Hi Ken, no problem and thanks for commenting! I will definitely keep checking up with regards to the new developments happening at kiwanja. Excited to see your project grow! Good luck!

http://kiwanja.net kiwanja

Thanks for highlighting our work, Akhila! Very much appreciated, and hopefully you’ll be able to return in a few months and do an update – there’s plenty going on here.

Ken

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