This archive report was first published on 13 May 2020.
Published on May 13, 2020, a Rongai innovator has created an electronic voucher system to help combat the spread of Covid-19.
The system, known as EgiftVocha, allows local people to purchase goods without carrying cash, reducing the risk of infection and promoting cashless transactions.
According to Raphael Marambi, the innovator behind the system, it is simple, transparent, and timely during the Covid-19 period.
“We came up with this system to help local people purchase their goods without necessarily carrying cash with them. It is simple, transparent and timely during Covid-19 period,” said Marambi.
The system also provides a secure way for donors to track their donations and ensure that they are used for their intended purpose.
“Through this innovation, one can keep tabs on the donations given to the vulnerable members of the society. This is because a donor can select the people to send donations to, straight to their phones, where the recipients can use the code to purchase items through Lipa na Mp-pesa, service,” adds Marambi.
The government has recently launched a weekly stipend programme for slum dwellers in Nairobi County and other parts of the country to cushion them from the coronavirus grip.
However, the move has had several bottlenecks, including corruption and social distancing issues.
But the EgiftVocha system provides a timely and easy remedy to these issues, allowing donors to send their contributions through the Kenya Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund.
“We have designed the system to serve people of all categories. The system can be used by people who own the cheapest phones in the market like a Mulika Mwizi. You do not need to download any Application, because we use the USSD code that comes as a Short Message Service (SMS) to a recipient’s phone,” adds Marambi.
The cost of using the invention for an entity planning to send donations is also quite low, with Marambi charging 1 per cent of the total amount transferred through the voucher.
Due to this, stakeholders are already jumping into the ship in order to enjoy the flexibility of the system.
Kajiado County is one of the entities eyeing the invention, with James Waisha, a Member of County Assembly for Nkaimurunya Ward in Kajiado County, saying that the county has made deliberations to channel its donations through the system.
“The County Government of Kajiado is in consultation with the inventor to make sure we also chip in and deliver our donations in the system created by a resident of our own county,” said Waisha.
The innovator, Raphael Marambi, believes that the driving force for his moves in the tech world have been informed by the quest to challenge Kenyans to believe in themselves and use their skills to help alleviate the challenges facing Africa.
“We can solve our own problems and ought to believe so. We are able to come up with our own homegrown innovations to help in creating solutions for our own problems. I wish to challenge Kenyans to trust in our ability because our technologies have now matured,” says Marambi.
