As former investment bank technicians, we wondered why some of the largest issues of society – homelessness, rough sleeping and poverty – were not receiving digital attention. We felt that no, or little, attempt was being made to address the problems via the application of technology. The machinery of capitalism gets more than enough digital oil but social projects not so much. Why? Money! More to the point: the lack of it in social projects and enterprises.
Someone is not providing the correct approach. How long before you accept that whatever you're doing... it’s not working out. A cynic might say that some organisations lack the motivation to solve these social problems as it would mean the demise of a cash cow!
We thought we would have a go. Why? Because we Kanndoo!
We realised that there are ‘charitable’ entities that have managed to capitalise on poverty to their advantage rather than that of the needy. Why shouldn’t we use the mechanics of capitalism to make social welfare work like a commercial enterprise but for the betterment of the poor? With our background in investment banking, we should know a bit about the mechanics of enterprise scale solutions – global solutions. We knew we could build something… but what?
If you could make poverty attractive to business/capitalists you could sell it to them and use the proceeds to solve social problems. The project would be self-funding and self-sustaining. We would create the ability to receive by giving. No begging, we built over £7 million worth of mobile apps for the sole purpose of giving them away and we developed housing solutions that will create jobs and work opportunities for the homeless.
Our aim is to coordinate charities to ensure reduced duplication of effort and our project even funds charities, but only the ones that homeless people rate. We are giving the power back to the disenfranchised people. Statistical and performance-related data generated by our projects enable funding sources (chiefly the government and large corporations) to identify performing charities and thus make better informed funding decisions.
Under our system, organisations can be funded by performance rather than size, thereby giving smaller and potentially better service providers a place at the table.
The whole project has evolved to become as much about the business model – a self-sustaining economic system that benefits people in poverty – as it is about digital solutions like our apps. The software works as a facilitator, but it has the unique characteristic, unlike physical tools, that it can be developed once and given away forever. A resource that will never run out. We have an endless and growing supply of products that we can give away to encourage donations and sponsorship, on a worldwide basis, to finance our social reform projects everywhere. Projects that include the manufacturing, distribution and maintenance of our housing solutions and the creation of jobs on a national (potentially global) scale.
Our digital products are not software they are ‘careware’ and that is our specialisation. We invite entities who have an idea for an app with social benefit to bring it to us and we will build it free of charge so as to extend our fundraising platform.
We can keep blaming governments for not doing enough, whilst people suffer; or we can all, collectively, do something about it! After all, the problem has more to do with the absence of a viable solution than money!
We believe this is a unique and revolutionary solution. We hope you’ll agree and support us in our mission.
