He is also betting that people will want to not only connect directly to a project, but see regular updates as to how it is progressing – or possibly failing. Village X raises the stakes by providing people the opportunity to get a double “high” by setting up both opportunities in one place. He cited research that showed the “physiological ‘highs'” caused by both giving and getting deals. It targets young people who want to see their money have impact, but do not have enough to make major donations each year. When the user goes to the business and applies the discount, she is taken to a screen showing how much was saved and an encouragement to donate a fraction of the savings.īuckler believes that people who want to do good will be willing to make micro donations to the projects. An array of businesses offer discounts for goods and services. Then they go to a dashboard that will look familiar to anyone who uses LivingSocial or Groupon. Users of Village X are given the option of supporting one of the eleven active projects, after signing up. We can help expose them to new inputs (e.g., inexpensive technologies and training), but, when they have the final decision and do all the planning and implementing, they often excel and develop confidence and local capacity.”Ĭurrent projects receiving Village X funding include the building of a teacher house in Mwanga, Malawi and the rehabilitation of a road in Awaradonne, Ghaha. They know the constraints better than any outsider, and they know most of the potential inputs as well. Locals spend a lot of time dreaming about how to improve their communities. “We like to think of ourselves as investment bankers in villages. “Community-led projects have the highest likelihood of success to cost ratio, particularly when local people contribute their own cash,” said Buckler to Humanosphere.
Or is Buckler puts it, “BUY for less, GIVE a little, and SEE impact.” The motivation is to put money behind efforts led-by communities or individuals to improve their own lives. The trick in the app is to get people to give money. For founder Mike Buckler, Village X is the product of experience in the aid and development sector and a frustration with how things are done. To some, it will sound like a new gimmick along the lines of the buy-one give-one model made famous by TOMS. The new web app provides deals for local establishments and encourages users to pass on the savings to support locally-driven projects in Ghana and Malawi. If Groupon and Kiva got together and had a baby, it would look something like Village X. Just in time for the holiday season is a new way for people living in Washington D.C.
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