GiveDirectly is a nonprofit that sends money directly to people living in extreme poverty via mobile phone payments, working across six African countries and the United States.
GiveDirectly is a nonprofit founded in 2009 that sends money directly to people living in extreme poverty through unconditional cash transfers delivered via mobile phone platforms. It operates in seven countries - Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, alongside the United States. To date, it has delivered over $1 billion to more than 2 million people.
The organisation's work rests on three technical domains: mobile money and mobile phone payment platforms, the delivery of unconditional cash transfers, and impact evaluation through randomised research. Its flagship programme transfers funds to households with no conditions on how the money is spent. Recipients have been shown to invest in medicine, education, housing and businesses while maintaining work habits and avoiding harmful spending.
GiveDirectly describes itself as evidence-driven, backing its programmes with rigorous studies and focusing on efficiency and scalability in ending extreme poverty. It frames direct cash as a matter of dignity in giving, without paternalism. It partners with institutions including the World Bank, Google.org and the IKEA Foundation. Further information is available at givedirectly.org.
