Just a couple of weeks ago, I was calling for social media platforms that would allow donors and aid recipients to share their perspectives. Today, via Chris Kreutz, I learned about MobileMovement, a "next-generation microfinancing site, where donors and participants can communicate directly with young social entrepreneurs in the slums of Nairobi." So, if you find a youth enterpreneur group you’d like to finance, such as Be Smart Design Association or El Elohe Landscape and Artworks, you can ask them directly about their business plan, the way they work and how they intend to invest your money and decide whether to provide them with a loan or business advice.
And herein lies the difference with Kiva, according to Jessica Fraser, MobileMovement’s producer:
...if someone doesn’t want to have that relationship but they want to microfinance, Kiva’s the best. For someone who’s interested in dialoguing and learning more and building relationships or having contact, this is where Mobile Movement becomes a new platform.
Hmm, maybe. While the two-way, instantaneous communications is definitely a step in the right direction, one is still left to wonder whether Development 2.0 will become a virtual replica of the feudalistic fragmentation that plagued the Development 1.0 world. Will MobileMovement scale up, and would better development results have been achieved by embracing open standards and enhancing the already successful Kiva platform rather than creating a competitor? I guess only time will tell…
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