Africa Non-Profit Chore (ANCHOR) and Viamo
Testing Interactive Voice Response for Clean-Energy Awareness
Location: Uganda
Host: Save the Children International in Uganda
Developer: Africa Non-Profit Chore (ANCHOR) and Viamo
Funding Secured: The pilot for this innovation received $15,000 USD from Response Innovation Lab.
Funding Needed: Depends on the scope
Website: www.anchor-africa.org and www.viamo.io
ANCHOR is an NGO that works to end the economic exclusion of vulnerable communities by creating technological innovations that widen access to clean energy products. Through its phone-enabled Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology, ANCHOR has created a market-based approach to connect refugee and host communities with information on affordable clean energy solutions.
The Challenge
The refugee influx has put pressure on Uganda’s resources and has contributed to the growing demand for wood needed for cooking, heating and shelter. The rapid depletion of forest cover, worsened by the expansion of biomass as an energy source, is affecting soil fertility, flooding, and is drying up water sources. Decreasing land productivity threatens food security and increases tensions between refugees and host communities in Uganda. Refugee women and girls spend an average of 3-6 hours daily collecting between 25-30 kgs of firewood, which limits their participation in other productive activities, and increases their exposure to gender-based violence.
The Solution
Founded in 2014, ANCHOR is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that works to end violence and economic exclusion of vulnerable groups by providing the tools and resources needed to increase their self-sufficiency. VIAMO Solutions is a social enterprise that addresses low-technology infrastructure in areas with high illiteracy rates.
The pilot implemented in the Bidibidi settlement increased the adoption of clean energy products and services by improving market knowledge, attitudes toward clean technologies, and practices for vendors, refugees, and host communities.
By utilizing phone-enabled Interactive Voice Response (IVR), a technology powered by VIAMO, ANCHOR created a market-based approach to improve integration of clean energy. Through this approach, refugee and host communities receive information on affordable clean energy solutions and environmental-friendly practices through market activation drama, and subsequently, use phone-enabled IVR technology. The IVR contributed to behavioral change among users and improved coordination and trade, which resulted in enhancing private sector investment and competition. The access to suppliers of quality clean energy products was facilitated, leading to a reduction in cultural bias against environmentally-friendly practices including community adaptation to bio-gas and clean-cooking stoves. The pilot for this innovation received $15,000 USD in support from Response Innovation Lab.
The Impact
ANCHOR and Viamo used Interactive Voice Response (IVR) calls to bypass the language and illiteracy barrier. The logic of this intervention is that if last-mile-community members were better informed about the benefits and comparative costs of clean energy products, they would be more willing and able to invest their own resources towards utilizing clean energy products and best practices. By linking them with trained and certified clean energy suppliers, community members gained access to quality clean energy products within their geographical reach. A multilingual IVR platform was set up to facilitate phone-enabled voice data collection from targeted communities. Around 1,000 participating members received voice messages on clean energy.
Success & Learnings
This non-traditional approach necessitated sensitization and engagement with Refugee Welfare Councils and Local Councils to establish trust. Considering the short window available for data collection, using a toll-free line posed the uncertainty of failing to generate sufficient calls from community members to generate evidence. This informed the decision to opt for push voice messages instead.
In the early stages of the pilot, it was noted that the most commonly spoken languages in Zone 3 for both the refugee and host communities are Aringa, Juba Arabic, and English. Kakwa which was earlier planned to be included is not widely spoken in the zone and was left out.
Respondents who indicate a willingness to be contacted had their phone contacts shared with local vendors, trained by partner organizations to provide further information in order to facilitate the purchase of clean energy products in case respondents were interested.
Respondents may otherwise choose to be linked to the 161 national toll-free hotlines to learn more about clean energy – although the language options here are limited.