M-changa, a Kenyan Startup, has come up with a fundraising solution that uses mobile phones to fast-track and make fundraising drives more manageable.
Set to provide a means for fundraisers to carry out the events online and on their mobile phones more efficiently and transparently, the automated mobile phone interface comprises one of the several Startups fast developing in African countries, aimed at providing high-end technological services and products.
The fundraising solution is way above the traditional fundraising method in terms of simplicity; it manages the entire processes of the campaign along with the funders and the campaigners. Users are also provided automatic reminders in addition to statistics of past successful campaigns, according to Kyai Mullei, the M-changa Director.
M-changa has recently found application in some of the country’s most outstanding donation campaigns including Kenyans for Kenyans Campaign run by Safaricom and KCB foundation late last year. The campaign towards famine relief saw contributions hit an estimated Ksh19 million on the second day via mobile phone, according to The Standard.
“Think of any situation where you are raising money for a cause. M-Changa allows you to initiate fundraising campaigns and send customized fundraising campaign messages via mobile phone to as many contributors as you like. It also allows you to manage the lengths of the campaigns,” said Mullei to HumanIPO.
Until now, the most successful campaign by M-Changa is the converting of 170 individuals who are members of rural subscription insurance schemes into campaign subscribers, that will allow the users to pay their insurance premiums collectively on the platform.
In future, M-changa would like to be involved in large scale campaigns, like the recent Kenya’s most outstanding donation campaign, Kenyans for Kenyans, run by Safaricom and KCB foundation late last year. The campaign towards famine relief saw contributions hit an estimated Ksh19 million on the second day via mobile phone, according to The Standard.
M-Changa is resembling USA’s WePay, which provides the same services. In addition to that, WePay also allows its users to sell items by creating a simple store on the platform, sell tickets to events and also send bills to users’ clients, buy reminding them to pay up. As WePay is also focusing on the African market, M-Changa faces strong competition.
With over USD 600 million per month being transacted through network operated Mobile Money platforms, M-Changa intends to be the key player in crowdfunding activities that take place on Mobile Market platform. The automated mobile phone service is expected to be the go-to product for short-term and sustained long-term fundraising drives in East Africa by end of 2013, and to have rolled out of Africa in early 2014.
