Earlier this year, USAID and Mercy Corps started using mobile phones as a way to give Haiti aid for emergency food supplies. The Kenbe-La scheme works with phone company Voila and Unibank to provide beneficiaries with $50 a month in 'e-cash'. Using low-cost phones provided by Voila, those using the scheme get their money by text message which they can then use at over 50 shops to buy rice, beans, oil and maize.
The scheme isn't completely mobile, though. The participating stores receive the e-cash from shoppers using a special till and pin-code and then obtain hard cash from Unibank.
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