Last fall, I was (electronically) introduced to a brother from the company Mobile Cause. One of the thoughts sparked from conversing with him and seeing what Mobile Cause offers is if there is a means to take that idea of SMS donations and give to someone directly, the service providers (carrier, financial institutions, and service faciliator) essentially falling into the background so that its just a matter of “hear the need, text the gift,” then it might be possible for mobile giving to be the paradigm shift its being aimed towards. Certianly, we know from other endeavors with mobile and finances that making the transaction valuable, relevant and seamless does provoke sustainable behavioral shifts.

I thought for a bit about it, but due to the holiday and other endeavors, its kind of fallen off the radar a bit. Well, there were a few reminders; but, then there was an article about a company named GiveDirectly which seems like its taking that idea and walking forward. Here’s a snippet of that article:

…The idea couldn’t be simpler:

1. People donate through GD’s webpage
2. GD locates poor households in Kenya (see below)
3. GD transfers your donation electronically (through the M-Pesa mobile payments system) to a recipient’s cell phone (they send each household $500 per year for two years)>
4. The recipient collects the transfer

GD reckons that in this way, it can get 90 cents in every donated donor into the hands of poor people. Step 2 is interesting: ‘We do this in three steps.  We first select regions of Kenya with high poverty rates using census data.  We then identify villages with low-quality housing and access to an agent providing mobile-phone-based payment services. Finally, we identify the poorest households in these villages using simple, transparent criteria: we target all households living in homes made out of mud, wood, and grass. These criteria effectively identify relatively poor households and are generally perceived by the community as fair. We record eligible households’ phone numbers or, for those that do not have a phone, provide them with a SIM card. We follow up initial identification with a rigorous process of audits to prevent mistakes or fraud.’

Read the rest of Why Don’t We Just Send Aid Money Directly to Poor People’s Cellphones? at From Poverty to Power

So, there’s that idea solved if you will (enhanced is probably a better way to put it). GiveDirectly doesn’t seem look to enable those persons who already have some kind of financial backing to obtain more (though I am sure that their efforts would flow there with no problem). Ther efforts capitalize on the reality that mobile phones are just as (if not more) prelevant amongst marganilzd groups as a contact point than we normally take interest to. Then, thorugh analytics and cooperation with cellular providers and mobile account/phone owners, people are able to be given aid directly. Its almost as simple as putting a coin in the hands of a person on the street, just a digital reinvention of that process.

There are some issues with GiveDirectly’s approach for some efforts (and the linked article goes into these). However, the basic idea makes too much sense not to do (even with existing solutions such as Nokia Money, PayPal’s SMS/Mobile/App w/Bump efforts, and others. Not to say that service providers don’t have to be “seen” in these transactions, but if things could be done quickly, efficiently, and transparently, we’d probably be better able to address the needs of the digitally accessible poor than we do right now. What do you think?