March 2023: Informality, Inclusion and Improvement

[ssandino]

March 2023 → Subscribe to Monthly Updates

Informality, Inclusion and Improvement

Anniversary

Social Income just turned 3 years old. We're proud to have made 1,962 direct cash transfers to people in need, thanks to our amazing contributors, volunteers, and partners. As we celebrate this milestone, we're more committed than ever to creating a world where poverty doesn't hold people back. Thank you for your support!

Center stage at Google

We were invited to speak at Google's Founders Night. @ssandino took the stage to talk about what Social Income stands for, and the challenges of founding a tech NGO. Our favorite quote:

Everybody cheers for equality but forgets that, without economic justice, there can be no true equality.

Partnering with GitHub

Social Income is an initiative built on conviction, and volunteers. We have day jobs, but often nights on impact work. Well, now you can get a salary working for us thanks to GitHub’s Social Impact program, which is employing an Open Source Community Manager dedicated to Social Income. Apply now.

Mobile inclusion

We are currently integrating WhatsApp on our platform. This facilitates communication with recipients who have a smartphone (58%). Did you know that WhatsApp is also the most accessible instant messaging app for people with disabilities and most used digital channel in Sierra Leone?

Our World in Data

Numbers that made us think and wonder:

Stat of the month

48% without internet

Improving digital inclusion with mobile connectivity is not just about putting up antennas. While 3.8 billion people around the world remain unconnected to mobile internet, 88% of them live in an area that is covered by mobile broadband but do not use it. Key barriers include affordability, accessibility, handset compatibility, and lack of literacy or digital skills.

Informal economy

An estimated 92% of the national labor force in Sierra Leone works in the informal economy. This supermajority of the economy operates outside of government regulation and is not subject to taxation.

Rural struggle

Last month we talked about decreasing poverty in Sierra Leone. However, this reduction was achieved exclusively in urban areas. The rural population remains impoverished, and extreme poverty in these areas rose from 9 to 13 percent.

Room for improvement

In Switzerland CHF 410 per person is spent on foreign aid. 65% think that this is not enough.

Our World in News

Stories that made us think and wonder:

• Why is poverty so intractable? A Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist offers a new explanation. (The New York Times)
• Slums in Sierra Leone are built over the Ocean using an illegal method called "banking" to create shores as additional land, allowing the poorest to escape the capital's overpopulation at a low cost. (France 24)
• India’s homegrown instant payment system has remade commerce and pulled millions into the formal economy. (The New York Times)
• Sierra Leone is one of the riskiest places to have a baby. (Washington Post)
• The UK foreign secretary met powerful women in Sierra Leone this month, critics say just for social media. (The Guardian)
• Transformation maps are an astonishing tool created by the WEF that help you understand connections between economies, industries, and global issues. (WEF)
• Passport art sparks wildlife conservation debate in Sierra Leone. (Eco Business)

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