True Care Support Group

 PMTCT CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Peer support groups to increase the completion of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in pregnant women. 

Learn more about the PMTCT Challenge and how increasing completion of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to prevent mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV can decrease HIV rates and improve lives.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

The True Care Support Group will tackle the problem of non-completion of ART by providing a support network that offers peer counseling, training, encouragement, and emotional support to women living with HIV, with a focus on pregnant women living with HIV.

True Care Support Group will operate as both an online and offline network of women living with HIV. Counselors are women who have completed their ART regimen. Upon receiving referrals from hospitals,  counselors invite women to join their groups. Counselors receive incentives to help the women in their group, who are divided into pairs for extra support, complete their own ART regimens through in-person meetings, social media conversations, and SMS reminders. Graduates of the group will have the option to become counselors themselves. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Enroll 200 pregnant women living with HIV into support groups during the pilot
• Enroll 5,000 women living with HIV by the end of year 2

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Esther Bamidele - Co-Founder

Olugbenga Akinpeloye - Co-Founder

PHK Trading

CUSTOM CHALLENGE; ETHIOPIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags are a triple-layered plastic bag that serves as an air-tight storage method for harvested crops. 

Learn more about the Custom Challenge and why we only fund ideas that focus on distributing proven poverty interventions.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Ethiopia produces over 300 million quintals (1 quintal = 100kg) of grain per annum. Post-harvest loss in Ethiopia is estimated at about 22-30%, equivalent to approximately USD $230 million. The most notable causes of this post-harvest loss are attacks from weevils, rodents, and moisture or growth of mold. Farmers use different traditional and modern technologies to control insects. The most popular traditional method is the use of underground pits which can lead to mold growth. 

PICS bags are potentially the next revolutionary product for safe grain storage for millions of farmers in Ethiopia. The inner lining of the bags greatly hinders the movement of oxygen across the wall of the bag, killing insects. The overall efficacy of the bags in protecting grain or seed from infestation is reported to be over 99%. 

PHK Trading will increase sales and distribution of PICS bags by adoping a youth reseller model. Local youth with close relationships to local shop owners will be a key component of the supply chain. As sales agents, these youth resellers will take PICS bags from local vendors on credit, travel to markets in a particular community in order to bring the bags closer to smallholder farmers, sell the bags, and take home a $.19 margin per bag sold. 

The youth resellers will be chosen carefully on recommendations from local elders and will be tested to assess their entrepreneurial spirit. They will also receive training and professional development. PHK trading will hold demonstrations of the PICS bags in targeted villages with clusters of farmers to increase awareness of the product. 

PICS technology has been introduced to more than 50,000 villages across Sub-Saharan Africa. The bags are manufactured and sold in 28 countries in Africa and Asia. To date, more than 12 million PICS bags have been sold with the scale up funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and executed by Purdue University. PHK Trading is authorized by Purdue University to commercialize PICS bags. Over a period of two years, farmers will see a 123% return on investment. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Recruit 60 youth resellers by the end of year 1 

• Distribute 45,000 bags by the end of year 1 

FOUNDING TEAM

Yared Sertse - Project Leader

Yemisrach Getachew - Project Coordinator

Michael Tariku - Project Coordinator

Strong Girl Network

SUGAR DADDY AWARENESS CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Sugar Daddy Awareness classes. 

Learn more about the Sugar Daddy Awareness Challenge and how a simple, one-hour “sugar daddy awareness” training could help countless girls avoid pregnancy while still in school, which can lead to entrenched poverty, and build a better life.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

The Strong Girl Network is piloting a proven intervention to combat cross-generational
 sexual relationship in Nigeria with a goal to reach 57,600 girls in 3 months and 500,000 girls in two years. The team will deliver this evidence-based intervention by teaching anti sugar daddy awareness classes across schools providing young girls with critical information on the relative risk of sugar daddies. Strong Girl Network has successfully secured approval from the Oyo State Ministry of Education to introduce our Sugar Daddy classes in 285 state-controlled public schools.

Strong Girl Network will be testing the impact of teaching Sugar Daddy Awareness to 200 students in one hall, at one time. This approach presents its own risks but will be thoroughly monitored by the team to ensure its efficacy before it is scaled up. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 57,600 students during the pilot
• Reach 500,000 students by the end of year 2 

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Aderoju Okunsamni - Team Lead

Macduff Nnodim - Project Coordinator 

Bernard Magaji - Research and Data Analysis Lead 

Chisom Olukoya Olufemi - Project Coordinator

Adeoye Adejare - Curriculum Development and Training

Chubi Agro

QUALITY SEED CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Quality seeds. 

Learn more about the Quality Seed Challenge and why an evidence-based model that distributes high-quality seeds could reliably boost the standard of living for smallholder farmers.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

One proven strategy to combat low farm yields is through the use of improved seed varieties. These seeds which have higher yields and are locally adapted, have improved resistance to diseases and pests, mature earlier, and have a higher fertilizer response.

Chubi Agro will work on scaling up the distribution of high quality maize seeds by scaling up production of quality seeds in order to meet the anticipated growth in demand for improved seeds, increasing the number of distribution outlets by liaising with existing retail shops in rural communities to enhance the reach to smallholder farmers, continuing to expand an outgrower scheme in which quality seeds are distributed to farmers within the network as a loan to be repaid at the end of the harvest season, and conducting sensitization programs to increase awareness of the benefits of improved seeds as well as organize visits to demonstration farms. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Distribute 7,500kg of seeds during the pilot 
• Reach 200 farmers during the pilot
• Distribute 75,000kg of seeds at the end of year 2 
• Reach 3,000 farmers by the end of year 2
• Work with 100 distribution agents by the end of year 2 

 

FOUNDING TEAM

James Ogwu - Managing Director 

Bemsibom Toh - Strategy Director

Adesola Ajayi - Business Development Director

Setieye Solar Services

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

 

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar Lamps. 

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Seteiye Solar Services is committed to replacing kerosene lamps with solar-powered LED lanterns. They will introduce an everyday consumer product, integrating this technology in the lives of with those who need it in 136 villages in the Essien Udim local government area of Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. 

Their model establishes Village Solar Groups (VSGs), village-run self-help micro-enterprises as the nucleus of the project. These will distribute solar-powered LED lanters at prices comparable to or less than the cost of powering a kerosene lamp in rural villages. 

Leveraging the vast network and influence of community based organizations as well as traditional and religious institutions, Seteiye Solar Services set up a multi-stakeholder approach to deliver solar products and education across various target groups and enlighten consumers on the key features of solar lighting products. The team will also engage in massive market activation through road shows and product presentations in churches and village hall meetings. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 34 villages during the pilot 

• Distribute 340 solar lanterns during the pilot 

• Reach 1360 beneficiaries during the pilot 

• Distribute 4,080 lamps at the end of year 1 

• Distribute 5,440 lamps by the end of year 2

• Reach 22,000 direct beneficiaries by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Idopise Essien - Founder 

Patsogolo Ndi Ulimi

FERTILIZER CHALLENGE; MALAWI

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Fertilizer and microdosing technique. 

Learn more about the Fertilizer Challenge and why increasing the effective use of fertilizer has the potential to unlock significant crop yield for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.  

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Land degradation in the Southern Africa region has substantial environmental, social and economic costs. The majority of Malawians live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. National surveys estimate that crop production accounts for 74 percent of all rural incomes. Unless nutrients are replaced, soils become depleted, causing the yields and crop quality to decline (ICRISAT 2009). However, farmers are often unable to invest in soil nutrients because they are increasingly costly and often inaccessible. Knowledge among smallholder farmers about what inputs to use and how to apply them effectively is limited. Malawian farmers uses a small amount of fertilizer which is applied to only a portion of their land, perpetuating the significant soil nutrient deficiencies leading to low yields.

To address the problem of soil fertility, Patsogolo ndi Ulimi project will increase the yields of smallholder farmers by over 70% and promote a green environment through the promotion of fertilizer microdosing. This is a highly efficient technique that minimizes the application of and over – reliance on chemical fertilizer. It involves the application of small quantities of fertilizer onto or close to the seed. 

The project will use an innovative education method of lead farmers approach to distribute the technology to reach farmers. Lead farmers are progressive farmers (community volunteers) in the community that pilot different innovations on their farms while teaching other farmers in the process. One lead farmer has an average of 20 farmers that learn from his farm.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Recruit 100 lead farmers by the end of year 1
• Reach 2,000 farmers with fertilizer microdosing training by the end of year 1
• Recruit 500 lead farmers by the end of year 5
• Reach 10,000 farmers by the end of year 5

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Madalitso Chidumu - Team Lead and Founder

Hope Mpata - Extension Delivery Service Lead

Chimwemwe Mkandawire - Finace Lead

Bronze Health Care Initiative

SAYANA PRESS CHALLENGE; UGANDA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Sayana Press injectable contraceptive.  

Learn more about the Sayana®  Press Challenge and why training health providers to administer Sayana® Press can be particularly valuable for women who prefer injectable contraceptives but don’t have regular access.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Bronze Health Care Initiative will scale up last mile distribution of Sayana press in rural
Uganda giving women more power to choose when to have and not have children.

The Bronze Health Care Initiative team will import their own stock of Sayana Press into Uganda through a partnership with Pfizer Inc. Once purchased, the stock of Sayana press will be verified at the customs by Uganda revenue authority, then taken to the main store where it is counted, recorded in stock cards and stored. Then it will be distributed to various district stores managed by community based distribution facilitators (CBDFs) who are employees of Bronze. These CBDF's are area managers who will oversee a network of pharmacy store owners (also known as Community Based Distributors or CBDs) in their region. It will be the CBDF's job to coordinate the distribution of Sayana Press from the main Bronze office to each CBD or partner pharmacy across four regions of Uganda. It will also be the responsibility of the CBDF to conduct trainings on Sayana Press for each CBD and community health worker who will make the injectable contraceptive available in last mile communities. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Distribute 600 Sayana Press units by the end of the pilot 

• Train 400 community based distributors in four districts by the end of year 1

• Distribute 26,000 units by the end of year 1 

• Reach over 100,000 clients by the end of year 1 

FOUNDING TEAM

Samuel Sanya Wafula - Executive Director

Bonvic Okuku Obanda - Inter-personal Communication Officer

Daniel Mawerere - Pharmacist

 

Inspire Zambia Foundation

PMTCT CHALLENGE; ZAMBIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Retention in care and adherence to anti-retroviral treatment for people living with HIV. 

Learn more about the PMTCT Challenge and how increasing completion of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to prevent mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV can decrease HIV rates and improve lives.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Retention in care and adherence to treatment remain challenges for HIV patients in Zambia. Across the country, HIV prevalence remains high at 12.3% among adults and 1.3% among children. 

Inspire Zambia Foundation will run a pilot at two hospitals that support anti-retroviral therapy (ART) services in the province of Lusaka. The pilot will focus on strengthening the links between newly identified HIV patients and the tracking of patients who are already receiving ART treatment. Ensuring that new patients begin, adhere to, and complete crucial ART treatment will be done by building the capacity of community health workers (CHWs). Inspire Zambia Foundation will train CHWs to work as Adherence Counselors using a new curriculum and a system of Mobile Patient Tracking. This intervention enhances the quality of HIV programming in Zambia, focusing on CHWs and their potential to improve patient experience and adherence to the ART regimen. This direct, personal touch has been shown to improve adherence rates and therefore decrease instances of mother to child transmission of HIV.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Work with 2 health facilities implementing PMTCT interventions during the pilot 

• Work with 66 health facilities implementing PMTCT interventions by the end of year 2 

• Train 15 ACMPTs during the pilot 

• Train 500 ACMPTs by the end of year 2 

• Counsel 900 patients on ART adherence with revised curriculum during pilot 

• Counsel 100,000 patients on ART adherence with revised curriculum by the end of year 2 

FOUNDING TEAM

Fred Chitalu - Team Lead

Mulenga Mukanu - Linkage Coordinator

Ruth Mkala - Curriculum Development and Training Manager

Zita Zulu - Finance Manager

Tado Lamp

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; UGANDA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar lamps. 

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Uganda’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has been tasked with achieving a 51% energy coverage by 2030 against the current 10%, the focus has mostly been on grand / bigger scale implementations that often are not practical for the common man. This has also been coupled with a large dispersed, and poor rural population who often cannot afford government interventions even when subsidies are applied. 

Tado Lamp proposes a model for selling solar lamps that not only leverages flexible payments made possible by mobile technology but also ensures a decentralized distribution model. The goal is to partner with and empower local entrepreneurs to act as sales and support agents, ensuring that sales are closed in record time and that support is rendered in a timely manner. 

Particularly, Tado Lamp will institute a payment plan for solar lamps that allows for daily and weekly payments over a two month period through mobile money and readily available agents. They will also partner with local schools and health care institutions to provide discounts on services offered that are paid for indirectly through repayments. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Distribute 600 solar lamps during the pilot
• Distribute 10,000 solar lamps at the end of year 1
• Distribute 50,000 lamps at the end of year 2

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Joseph Kaizzi - Team Lead

Paul Kabaale - Training and Technical Support Lead

Maureen Mudondo - Monitoring and Evaluation Lead

Sarah Kuliva - Facilitator and Program Lead

Solar Mashinani

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; KENYA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar lamps. 

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Only 16% of Kenyans have access to the electric grid. Families living in rural households are faced with many challenges in accessing electricity. These families also face challenges in accessing solar energy including affordability, awareness, and access to technical support services. 

Solar Mashinani will address these barriers by creating a chain of branded portable kiosks located within rural target markets. The kiosks will be manned by agents trained in sales and marketing. Agents will be well-versed in troubleshooting, repair and maintenance of solar lamps. These kiosks will offer solar lanterns on a cash basis and on a pay-as-you-go model where customers can make a modest up-front payment of between $2 and $12 at the time of purchase, and make additional weekly payments of as low as $2 for a total of four to ten weeks. Using the Angaza system, customers will be able to pay off the balance on their laps via secure mobile payments to challenge the common problem of high up front costs. The kiosks will offer after sales-services including but not limited to lantern repair and replacement. 

Solar Mashinani will challenge the status quo of poor quality and support established by other solar lamp providers by enabling customers to make payments according to their income, purchase products in their communities, access after-sales services, engage with sales agents they know because they live in the communities they serve. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Distribute solar lamps to 1,250 households during the pilot
• Distribute solar lamps to 8,600 households by the end of year 1
• Distribute solar lamps to 23,400 households by the end of year 2

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Charles Omondi Ogingo - Chief Executive Officer 

Peter Gombe - Technical Adviser 

Robert Achoge - Finance and Administration Officer 

GasforAll Ventures

COOK STOVE CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

3kg LPG clean cook stoves. 

Learn more about the Cook Stove Challenge and how clean cook stoves reduce health and safety risks, lower fuel expenses, and help reduce poverty.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Gas4All's mission is to effectively distribute 3kg LPG clean cook stoves to urban slum households in the city of Kaduna, Nigeria in order to drastically reduce mortality from smoke inhalation, especially among women and children. 

Over 22 million households in Nigeria depend on solid fuel for cooking which leads to 80,000 deaths annually. Their intervention of focus is a 3kg LPG stove. However, LPG has significant barriers to adoption, including affordability and distance between homes and LPG refill plants. Gas4All's solution is to create a constant, easily accessible supply of LPG by hiring LPG vendors that will station themselves in communities, and distribute the LPG canisters to their sales agents with a van. The cook stoves will be made affordable through consumer financing, with customers paying in installments for four to six months. By opening up three offices (one in the main market and two around the pilot location of an urban slum), Gas4All will have ample space to use for conducing awareness raising activities and trainings, stock inventory for sales agents, receive installment payments, and conduct after sales services. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Provide 21,000 kg of LPG to communities by the end of year 1

• Distribute 10,200 cook stoves by the end of year 1

• Increase number of sales agents by 8 by the end of year 1

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Emeka Umechukwu - Founder

Chidi Umeh - Co-Founder and Sales Director

Jibu Tanzania

CUSTOM CHALLENGE; TANZANIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Improving access to clean water through distribution. 

Learn more about the Custom Challenge and why we only fund ideas that focus on distributing proven poverty interventions.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Jibu Tanzania aims to tackle two major issues within East Africa and beyond: unemployment and lack of access to clean water. Their mission is to create affordable access to drinking water through franchised water production sites across Arusha. They will do this by having a water purification machine serving 50,000 people with an associated network of 10 local micro-resellers within an area of 2 kilometers around the production center. 

A 2010 demographic and health survey states that 60% of Tanzanians do nothing to treat their water. Most households have no home filtration system and many drink unboiled water. Water is sourced from house taps and outdoor standpipes and has a high concentration of fluoride which, when consumed long-term, can lead to severe physical ailments. Chlorine or sand filters alone do not remove fluoride and other harmful micro-biological pathogens. 

Jibu employs reverse osmosis as a water treatment method which allows for all harmful bacteria and parasites to be filtered out as well as 95% of floride. The water will be packaged, sold, and distributed in re-usable containers. Jibu partners with Healing Water International to access water filtration units as they do not manufacture their own. The secret to their prices is the efficiency of a decentralized, hyper-local business model because their focus is on underserved populations living in close proximity of each Jibu storefront. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Serve 600 customers during the pilot

• Serve 4,000 customers at the end of year 1

• Sell 800 liters of water during the pilot 

• Sell 5,333 liters of water at the end of year 1 

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Tayeb Noorbhai - Managing Director

Alex van Praag - Operations Manager

Bonaventure Bernard - Sales and Business Development

Giacomo - Marketing and Franchise Officer

Raise Your Text

TRANSPARENCY CHALLENGE; FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Texting accountability and outreach platform. 

Learn more about the Transparency Challenge and how citizen reporting platforms can be used to hold government officials accountable and reduce corruption.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Raise Your Text plans to reduce teacher absenteeism for unauthorized absences while increasing educational data and teacher-parent engagement through an anonymous texting accountability and outreach platform. Using "dumb" and smart cell phones which are being increasingly used in the developing world, parents and students indicate teacher absenteeism anonymously by sending text messages to the Raise Your Text system, and teachers can engage with students and their families about classroom updates, events, and issues via message. Once information has been gathered and analyzed, data will be utilized by the Department of Education in partnership with Raise Your Text to either incentivize or take action against poor performing teachers. 

Raise Your Text has key connections with the local Department of Education, teachers, politicians to conduct a pilot with 20 schools and 100 teachers on the island of Pohnpei. After the pilot is complete, the service will be converted into a more formal software and service which will be marketed to local, state, and country departments of education with large problems in teacher absenteeism and teacher-parent engagement. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Monitor 100 classrooms during the pilot 

• Monitor 2,000 classrooms by the end of year 1 

• Engage 10,000 students and their family members in the platform during the pilot

• Engage 200,000 students and family members in the platform by the end of year 1 

FOUNDING TEAM

Nick Canfield - Team Lead

Richard Clark - Partnership Manager

Joyceleen Panuel - Project Manager 

Prathima Appaji - Legal and Political Analyst  

Farm on Wheels

IMPROVED FARM PRACTICES CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

 PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Quality seeds and fertilizer as well as transportation of farm produce to market. 

Learn more about the Improved Farm Practices Challenge and why increasing the effective use of fertilizer has the potential to unlock significant crop yield for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Major distribution problems for smallholder farmers in Nigeria include: the high cost of transportation due to bad roads, limited farm resources, low yield even with increased fertilizer application and quality seeds due to improper application, low profit margin due to increased fertilizer use which discourages farmers from investing. 

Farm on Wheels is a direct distribution line that will bring quality seeds and fertilizers to farmers, then transport farm produce to urban areas via large trucks at harvest time. Short seminars will be facilitated with small holder farmers on utilizing quality seeds, microdosing technique, and how to purchase these quality inputs on credit with Farm on Wheels. To do this, Farm on Wheels will partner with small holder rural farmers cooperatives. Farm produce will be transported to urban areas and sold to Farm on Wheels partners. Farmers can use produce to cover costs of quality inputs taken on credit. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Teach microdosing technique with 5 farmer cooperatives during the pilot 

• Increase the effective use of fertilizer and scale up distribution of quality seeds with 75 small holder farmers during the pilot 

• Teach microdosing technique with 20 farmer cooperatives by the end of year 1 

• Increase the effective use of fertilizer and scale up distribution of quality seeds with 300 smallholder farmers by the end of year 1

FOUNDING TEAM

Jocelyne Agbo - Founder and Chief Executive Officer 

Stanley Arinze - Finance and Distribution Lead

Sehak

PATIENT IDENTIFICATION CHALLENGE; INDIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Free, SMS service that provides accessible diagnosis for for easily correctable health conditions and connects users to vetted health facilities.

Learn more about the Patient Identification Challenge and why identifying individuals in need of medical treatment and finding ways to make that treatment accessible reduces poverty.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

In Mumbai, a dynamic metropolis and the entertainment and financial capital of India, 41.3% of the population of 19 million reside in slums. The largest of these slums is Dharavi, a locality in the heart of Mumbai, with a staggering 2000 people residing per acre. Many of the public hospitals in the area are overcrowded and unreliable in their services , leading residents of the slums to face a lack of access to affordable, quality healthcare, despite their proximity to world-renowned health infrastructure - echoing a theme seen in many urban slums across India. This leads to residents contracting diseases that are left undiagnosed and untreated in spite the fact that some of these conditions are easily-correctable, easily-identifiable and cheap to treat.

88% of Indian households now have mobile phones, including 77% of households in the bottom quintile. Due to the widespread presence of mobile phones, India is predicted to have the highest adoption rate for mobile health or “mHealth” technologies

Sehak has created creating a free, call-based service that provides an accessible
diagnosis for the 4 easily correctable health conditions targeted, connects users to vetted health facilities that can treat the diagnosed condition, and regularly engages with the users.

The service will target 4 pecific easily-correctable, identifiable and cheap-to-treat health conditions: obstetric fistula, cataracts, clubfoot and cervical cancer.

Users will sign up for our service by placing an initial missed call to our number. They will then receive an immediate automatic call back, and the automated response system (IVR) will prompt the first-time caller to provide their basic demographic information, including their gender, age, location, and preferred language, as well as whether they are married and/or have young children. We will then store this information in our subscriber database and the subscriber will start receiving our regular text messages via SMS to dispense essential and timely health information. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Reach 5,000 users during the pilot

• Reach 50,000 users by the end of year 1  

• Send 1,500 diagnostic calls during the pilot 

• Send 15,000 diagnostic calls by the end of year 1 

FOUNDING TEAM

Sanya Sareen - Partnerships and Finance Lead

Nishchala Bhandari - Strategy and Human Capital Lead

Arushi Gupta - Technology and Research Lead

Shamba Pride

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; KENYA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Quality seeds and other key inputs for rural farmers through a franchised agro dealer network and a youth agent network. 

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Established in 2016, Shamba Pride (formerly Farmers Pride) offers one-stop B2B DigiShop franchise marketplace that empowers village level informal agro-dealer stores and cooperatives to digitize their operations. The company offers a supply chain solution to guarantee quality of inputs, information and services to local farmers to ensure increased farm production. Our DigiShop platform creates new agriculture opportunities to village-level farmers to access trusted and dependable information, inputs and services to succeed in their farming enterprises.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Distribute 11 tons of certified seeds by the end of year 1 

• Reach 1,000 agro dealers by the end of year 1 

• Reach 5,000 farmers by the end of year 1 

FOUNDING TEAM

Samuel Munguti - Founder and Chief Executive Officer 

Augustin Mutuku - Accounts Manager 

Catherine Musyoka - Head of Sales, Marketing and Farmer Training 

Alex Matui - Chief Technology Officer 

Joel Patenaude - Advisor 

Edkasa

FLIPPED CLASSROOM CHALLENGE; PAKISTAN

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

The Edupreneur program which will make top quality teachers available across the country. 

Learn more about the Flipped Classroom Challenge and why new education models, like flipping the classroom or deskilling a class curriculum, offer a solution to the vast teacher shortages in the developing world.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Teachers will deliver live lessons at EDKASA's central facility in Lahore which will then be streamed to a network of low-cost centers that will be operated by Edupreneurs. These Edupreneurs will screen the live teaching web-streams at their physical locations, providing access to students in their communities for a low monthly cost. 

The Edupreneur program strategy is based on providing three core elements: 

1. Provide top quality teachers, live. Live, interactive learning is critical for success in the after-school education sphere in Pakistan. 

2. Reach students from low income households. The target user for the Edupreneur program is a secondary student from a low-income household. EDKASA first goal is to achieve a price point of $10 per month per student for after-school secondary education with the aim to reduce it to $5 once the programs scale up. 

3. Be financially sustainable. EDKASA wants to provide a solution that is financially sustainable for everyone involved. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Work with 10 entrepreneurs during the pilot phase
• Reach 200 students during the pilot phase 
• Work with 250 Edupreneurs and reach 5,000 students by the end of year 1 
• Work with 500 Edupreneurs and reach 20,000 students by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Fahad Tanveer - Director

Sohail Ali - Strategy Lead

Annum Sadiq - Education Lead

Bakhtawar Ali - Marketing Lead 

Muneeb Ali - Tech Lead 

KopaGas

CUSTOM CHALLENGE; TANZANIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

A smart meter to enable micro payments on LPG gas for low-income, rural households. 

Learn more about the Custom Challenge and why we only fund ideas that focus on distributing proven poverty interventions.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

KopaGas is a pioneer on pay-as-you-go LPG for low-income settings.

Of low-income households in rural Tanzania, 60% want to switch to LPG they can't afford due to upfront costs. KopaGas has developed a smart meter that enables micro-payments for LPG and has demonstrated success in Dar es Salaam. By developing credit-risk scores for low-income rural households, they can bring the technology to rural Tanzanians and help millions access modern cooking fuel. The team will build off of existing infrastructure and community presence in the fishing community on Jibondo island. 

Using human-centered design to create impactful behavioral change marketing campaigns, KopaGas will improve awareness of the benefits of LPG and introduce the community to a pay-as-you-cook solution enabled by a fully functional and mass-manufacture ready smart meter. This is the only commercially-ready smart meter for LPG in East Africa and will be combined with a credit-scoring methodology that they will research and design to create access for the poorest families. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Deliver over 50 tons of LPG during the pilot phase

• Connect 400 households during the pilot phase

• Reach over 8,000 people by the end of year 1

• Avoid 6,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted by the end of year 2

• Avert 381 deaths from smoke inhalation by the end of year 2

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Thomas Disley - Project Lead

Sebastian Rodriguez - KopaGas Chief Executive Officer and Product Lead

Andron Mendes - KopaGas Chief Financial Officer 

Community Based Participatory Immunization (CBPI)

CUSTOM CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

The distribution of vaccine reminder bracelets and awareness creation on the importance of childhood immunization in Nigeria. 

Learn more about the Custom Challenge and why we only fund ideas that focus on distributing proven poverty interventions.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

CBPI will pilot their initiative in Abuja and Niger state of Nigeria. From an initial needs assessment, the team found that health facilities in both locations lacked the means to remind mothers of their child's vaccination appointments aside from child health cards issued to mothers. 

The CBPI model has two components: vaccination bracelets (clean plastic bracelet put on the baby's wrist for nine months with holes punched in the plastic for each vaccination a child receives to enable health workers to monitor mothers' compliance with immunization schedule) and CareAlert (a bulk SMS reminder service to remind caregivers of vaccination appointments). 

The team will raise awareness of vaccinations and the importance of the bracelets via antenatal and postnatal sessions at healthcare facilities with 10,000 mothers in one year.  

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• 30 healthcare service providers reached with awareness raising during the pilot 
• 1,500 bracelets distributed during the pilot phase 
• 3,000 SMS messages sent during the pilot 
• 14,400 mothers reached with awareness raising at the end of 1 year 
• 240 healthcare providers reached by the end of year 2 
• 36,000 vaccination bracelets distributed by the end of year 2 

FOUNDING TEAM

Dr. Emmanuel Egbroko - Co-Founder

Paul Ogboji - Co-Founder 

Chika Ozoemena - Co-Founder and Consultant 

Ikechukwu Oguomah - Co-Founder 

Farmwise

CUSTOM AGRICULTURE CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

An asset-based loan that includes seeds and fertilizer, financing for farm inputs, training on agricultural techniques, and market facilitation to maximize profits. 

Learn more about the Custom Agriculture Challenge and why distributing proven agricultural interventions can greatly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Farmwise will assist smallholder farmers by providing the resources they need to succeed. They will provide farmers with farm in put on credit, deliver products to their door, train farmers, and help them sell the harvest. These services must be provided together because without credit, farm inputs are not affordable, without training, farmers do not maximize resources, without delivery, services are not accessible. By delivering all of these services together, Farmwise will enable farmers to significantly increase their farm income and build a path out of poverty.  Farmwise's vision is to reach 1 million farm families by 2020 (which is less than 2% of registered smallholder farmers in Nigeria), while expanding the Farmwise model quickly and sustainably. 

Farmwise loan packages range in value from $62.5 to $100 and includes crop insurance to mitigate the risks of drought and disease for new farmers. Packages valued at $200 will be available for returning farmers in the second year. Farmers may enroll as little as a quarter of an acre of land or a full acre of farmland. Farmwise will provide a maximum of one loan package per household. To quality for the Farmewise program, farmers are required to form local groups, attend agricultural training, and pay a materials and training fee. Farmwise will accommodate clients with a flexible repayment system in which they may repay their loans in any amount and at any time as long s they complete repayment by July of the same year. To receive the loan and training, farmers must join a village group that is supported by a local Farmwise field officer. The field officers will meet regularly with the farmer groups to coordinate delivery of farm inputs, administer training, and collect repayments. During the pilot, Farmwise plans for one acre per farmer and each farmer is expected to achieve $900 in their first year and $1,600 in their second year. 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

• Serve 680 farm families during the pilot phase
• Hire 180 staff members during the pilot phase
• Serve 80,000 farm families at the end of year 1
• Grow the staff to include 1,070 employees by the end of year 1 
• Reach 319 communities by the end of year 2 
• Serve 486,000 farm families by the end of year 2 

FOUNDING TEAM

Ugwunwa Nkasiobi Nwamara - Co-Founder

Iheanyi Esse - Co-Founder 

Chidochiri Ononuju - Co-Founder