Grameen Foundation AppLab
Uganda
Last updated October 8, 2012
Partner Description:
Grameen Foundation Application Laboratories (AppLab) is an anti-poverty technology program run by Grameen Foundation, a major global nonprofit that helps the world’s poorest people -- especially women -- improve their lives and escape poverty by providing access to financial services, life-changing information, and unique income-generating opportunities.
Grameen Foundation believes that barriers to information and services related to health, finance, agriculture, job opportunities, etc. perpetuate poverty. By leveraging the power of mobile phones to both share and collect information, the AppLab program aims to expand opportunity and improve people’s lives in rural and developing regions.
Through its Community Knowledge Worker (CKW) initiative, AppLab is building a network of “farmer leaders” across Uganda who use mobile devices to share expert agricultural information with their small-holder farmer neighbors living on less than $2 a day. These peer-nominated point people also collect information from these farmers through phone based surveys.
This initiative has several goals:
- To reduce the costs of adopting new agricultural practices.
- To empower organizations serving farmers to better meet their needs.
- To improve farmers’ crop yields and incomes.
The CKWs are paid small monthly salaries based on the number of information searches and surveys they complete. These salaries add to -- and sometimes even double -- the amount that the CKWs earn as smallholder farmers themselves.
Grameen Foundation works with a number of agricultural organizations to package agricultural information accessible through mobile phones, using menu-based search tools, simple language and illustrative graphics. This information includes market prices, treatments for crop and animal diseases, weather forecasts, supplier contacts and more. The program also works with poverty-focused organizations (including government agencies and NGOs) to develop surveys that can help improve and expand support services for farmers.
Kiva loans will be used to fund CKWs’ startup costs. Borrowers will receive in-kind loans in the form of business kits containing smartphones, batteries, charging devices and weighing scales for crops. The latter two items enable CKWs to earn extra income by providing additional services to farmers. Combined with training, these tools are all CKWs need to get started and earn revenue.
Kiva funding will enable AppLab to redirect its resources to expansion efforts, which will increase the number of CKWs, strengthen operations in the field and invest in future offerings like mobile money transfers. AppLab hopes to turn Uganda into a hub for deploying similar agricultural information programs in other markets. Kiva’s zero-interest capital could give AppLab the boost it needs to make this happen.
The infrastructure used to support AppLab’s efforts is the result of a collaborative effort for more than five years between Grameen Foundation, Google and MTN-Uganda. The program also draws support from the U.N. World Food Program and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Grameen Foundation is supportive of the Smart Campaign and the client protection principles that have emerged from its work. It has built them into their due diligence and partner vetting processes. It has also supported the campaign through being a founding member of the Microfinance CEO's Working Group, putting the campaign’s principles at the center of its advocacy efforts. Grameen remains unable to formally endorse the Smart Campaign because it feels that it does not go far enough in a few areas, including as responsible pricing. Discussions on these outstanding issues are ongoing with Smart Campaign leadership.
Partner Description:
Grameen Foundation Application Laboratories (AppLab) is an anti-poverty technology program run by Grameen Foundation, a major global nonprofit that helps the world’s poorest people -- especially women -- improve their lives and escape poverty by providing access to financial services, life-changing information, and unique income-generating opportunities.
Grameen Foundation believes that barriers to information and services related to health, finance, agriculture, job opportunities, etc. perpetuate poverty. By leveraging the power of mobile phones to both share and collect information, the AppLab program aims to expand opportunity and improve people’s lives in rural and developing regions.
Through its Community Knowledge Worker (CKW) initiative, AppLab is building a network of “farmer leaders” across Uganda who use mobile devices to share expert agricultural information with their small-holder farmer neighbors living on less than $2 a day. These peer-nominated point people also collect information from these farmers through phone based surveys.
This initiative has several goals:
- To reduce the costs of adopting new agricultural practices.
- To empower organizations serving farmers to better meet their needs.
- To improve farmers’ crop yields and incomes.
The CKWs are paid small monthly salaries based on the number of information searches and surveys they complete. These salaries add to -- and sometimes even double -- the amount that the CKWs earn as smallholder farmers themselves.
Grameen Foundation works with a number of agricultural organizations to package agricultural information accessible through mobile phones, using menu-based search tools, simple language and illustrative graphics. This information includes market prices, treatments for crop and animal diseases, weather forecasts, supplier contacts and more. The program also works with poverty-focused organizations (including government agencies and NGOs) to develop surveys that can help improve and expand support services for farmers.
Kiva loans will be used to fund CKWs’ startup costs. Borrowers will receive in-kind loans in the form of business kits containing smartphones, batteries, charging devices and weighing scales for crops. The latter two items enable CKWs to earn extra income by providing additional services to farmers. Combined with training, these tools are all CKWs need to get started and earn revenue.
Kiva funding will enable AppLab to redirect its resources to expansion efforts, which will increase the number of CKWs, strengthen operations in the field and invest in future offerings like mobile money transfers. AppLab hopes to turn Uganda into a hub for deploying similar agricultural information programs in other markets. Kiva’s zero-interest capital could give AppLab the boost it needs to make this happen.
The infrastructure used to support AppLab’s efforts is the result of a collaborative effort for more than five years between Grameen Foundation, Google and MTN-Uganda. The program also draws support from the U.N. World Food Program and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Grameen Foundation is supportive of the Smart Campaign and the client protection principles that have emerged from its work. It has built them into their due diligence and partner vetting processes. It has also supported the campaign through being a founding member of the Microfinance CEO's Working Group, putting the campaign’s principles at the center of its advocacy efforts. Grameen remains unable to formally endorse the Smart Campaign because it feels that it does not go far enough in a few areas, including as responsible pricing. Discussions on these outstanding issues are ongoing with Smart Campaign leadership.
Repayment Performance on Kiva
Repayment Performance on Kiva| This Field Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Start Date On Kiva | Nov 6, 2012 | Oct 12, 2005 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Loans | $47,450 | $424,025,700 | |
| Amount of Raised Inactive Loans | $0 | $240,475 | |
| Number Of Raised Inactive Loans | 0 | 221 | |
| Amount of Paying Back Loans | $47,450 | $92,071,175 | |
| Number Of Paying Back Loans | 146 | 99,788 | |
| Amount of Ended Loans | $0 | $331,714,050 | |
| Number Of Ended Loans | 0 | 434,937 | |
| Delinquency Rate | 2.50% | 2.11% | |
| Amount In Arrears | $1,100 | $1,230,498 | |
| Outstanding Portfolio | $44,059 | $58,360,650 | |
| Number of Loans Delinquent | 140 | 9,862 | |
| Default Rate | 0.00% | 0.97% | |
| Amount of Ended Loans Defaulted | $0 | $3,220,059 | |
| Amount of Ended Loans | $0 | $331,714,050 | |
| Number Of Ended Loans Defaulted | 0 | 9,823 | |
| Currency Exchange Loss Rate | 0.00% | 0.02% | |
| Amount of Currency Exchange Loss | $0 | $77,435 | |
| Refund Rate | 0.00% | 0.96% | |
| Amount of Refunded Loans | $0 | $4,068,925 | |
| Number Of Refunded Loans | 0 | 4,589 |
Loan Characteristics On Kiva
Loan Characteristics On Kiva| This Field Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Loans To Women Entrepreneurs | 30.14% | 74.04% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Loan Size | $325 | $406 | |
| Average Individual Loan Size | $325 | $645 | |
| Average Group Loan Size | $0 | $1,742 | |
| Average Number Of Entrepreneurs Per Group | 0 | 8 | |
| Average GDP Per Capita (PPP) in Local Country | $1,700 | $3,346 | |
| Average Loan Size / GDP Per Capita (PPP) | 19.12% | 12.14% | |
| Average Time To Fund A Loan | 1.56 days | 4.69 days | |
| Average Dollars Raised Per Day Per Loan | $207.68 | $86.65 | |
| Average Loan Term | 40.95 months | 9.61 months |
Journaling Performance on Kiva
Journaling Performance on Kiva| This Field Partner | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Total Journals | 1 | 203,064 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journaling Rate | 0.00% | 39.94% | |
| Average Number Of Comments Per Journal | 0.00 | 0.11 | |
| Average Number Of Recommendations Per Journal | 0.00 | 2.73 |
Borrowing Cost Comparison (based on 2009 data)
Borrowing Cost Comparison (based on 2009 data)| This Field Partner | Median for MFI Peers in Country | All Kiva Partners | ||
| Portfolio Yield | N/A | N/A | 35.02% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profitability (Return on Assets) | N/A | N/A | -0.38% | |
| Average Loan Size (% of Per Capita Income) | N/A | 72.10% | 46.53% |
Country Fast Facts
Country Fast Facts- Country:
- Uganda
- Capital:
- Kampala
- Official Language:
- English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
- Population:
- 26,404,543
- Avg Annual Income:
- $1,700
- Labor Force:
- agriculture 82%; industry 5%; services 13%
- Population Below Poverty Line:
- 35%
- Literacy Rate:
- 69.90%
- Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000):
- 86.15 deaths
- Life Expectancy:
- 45.28 years
Field Partner Staff
Fiona ByarugabaCarol Kakooza
Katie Krummel
Richard Nuwagaba
Simon Okot
Laura Sellmansberger