How Old Nokias Are Helping Solve Poverty

Ending global poverty has been a topic of great importance for a lot of human history, but what if we've been thinking about it wrong this whole time? What if a basic Nokia phone could help end poverty. In this episode we take a look.

Sources:

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[givedirectly]

24:54 thanks for spotlighting direct cash giving --- donations will go straight to Kenyan families in need as cash, no strings attached 💸 Feel free to ask us questions in reply to this comment

[kingmwangi]

As a Kenyan, born and bred, aside from the highlighting the positive impact of giving directly, thank you for representing the reality of many in my country clearly and respectfully.

[FAT]

For most people, having decent communication is already a huge blessing on its own.

[no-nukez]

Donating to NGOs is less of "teaching a man how to fish", but more like "paying someone to teach a man how to fish, but the teacher spends >35% of the money on administrative fees, fundraising events, employee salaries, and bonuses for executives, then months later they come with a team of unpaid volunteers to build a library so that people can read how to fish on their own".

Donating directly always seemed like the better option, but there wasn't a way to do so without a high chance of getting scammed. I'm glad there's a way now.

[RTR-xq]

I am Kenyan and when I saw the title and thumbnail, immediately knew this is a story about M-Pesa.

[cyrusngenoh]

watching this video from Siongiroi wks after receiving $1000

[jacobstone]

"We stole the money!" Truer words have never been said. The charity organisation model has a fatal flaw; administrative costs.

[samueluhuru]

Growing up, by 7:00 pm it was pitch dark and quite in my village. Today every home is lit, and there are no more huts. The market goes up to around 9 pm now. Thanks in part to GiveDirectly. Been a fan of ColdFusion for years now... it's so cool to see you cover this.

[BranchofOlive-tq]

I'm from Ethiopia, a neighbor to our brothers in Kenya, and I didn’t even know about this. Thanks for sharing! The intro was real and honest. It's hard to escape poverty, but we always keep fighting, never giving up. Thank you, and shout out to Safari and Nokia

[AugustineKimaru]

In Kenya there's nothing I can't pay with Mpesa in all areas however rural. If only we didn't have corrupt leaders...Kenyans are a hardworking people.

[MELAVINKING]

Giving poor people directly is always a sure bet of improving their lives. Saying that as a Kenyan. 1000 USD is life changing money for poor families.

[klaede]

Money given directly to the people instead of corrupt officials and middleman grifters. That's beautiful.

[giomjava]

What a breath of fresh air!
Just donated. Also, my employer (NVIDIA) matched 100% ❤❤
Everyone, if you work for any of these big tech companies -- most of them match if not 100%, but at least 50 or so. This is TRANSFROMATIVE.

[yipeeyay]

Love this channel. I’ve never heard of this organization before but donated a small amount of money after watching this video. Keep up the good work!

[sashaa]

ColdFusion is single handedly helping countless people out of poverty by promoting this ❤💕

[luisgentil]

I see no problem with giving money directly to those who need it, as well as agency to spend it however they want. It's an act of respect and decency, even though some may just become dependent on it. I read once years ago that the amount of aid in the form of supplies like food and clothes sent to Africa killed the already slim chance of local businesses flourishing, because no one would buy or produce what they're getting for free. So direct financial aid combined with accessible technology may be a great idea to push real development.

[TheSolarGuyJK]

Generally in Eastern Africa, not just Kenya, this tech has been a serious game changer that Banks failed to fight it and instead embraced it and integrated it in their systems.

I, because of Mobile Money integration with Banking, may go 4 weeks without touching a note or coin. I buy groceries, fuel, electricity, medicine, school fees, rent, etc using mobile money. I can literally go a year without touching cash if I wanted.

Shout out to you, Dagogo… for having made this video (though you could have done it earlier had you known)

Much Love from Kampala, Uganda 🇺🇬

[arvincabugnason]

Mpesa was very futuristic. Banks don't want the tech because it can literally replace them. But it makes sense for middle to lower income.

[AnasAberchih]

Man I don't usually comment but I truly loved the video, as an AI Engineer never hearing about this techniques, it opened my eyes to vaarious ways to help people, clever, just clever!

[Okaaaayletsgo]

The Nokia 3310 didn’t need a case – the floor needed protection. Pretty sure it could survive a nuclear blast and still have full battery.