Convexity Technologies Limited, a prominent player in Nigerian fintech, has unveiled CHATS (Convexity’s Humanitarian Aid Transfer Solution), an innovative application set to redefine transparency in aid distribution across the African continent. Despite a substantial influx of $607.7 billion in aid to Africa between 2010 and 2021, with a notable peak of $58.4 billion in 2021, meaningful improvements in living standards have been hampered by systemic corruption and a conspicuous lack of accountability.
But the co-founder of the firm, Adedeji Owonibi, explained yesterday in Abuja, that
after consulting for international NGOs on fiscal forensics, the firm realised there were a lot of fraudulent activities going on when it came to aid distribution.
“Instead of being the police that always investigates after the fraud has happened, we decided to build a solution that gets people before the fraud happens,” he stated.
Owonibi further shared the motivation behind creating CHATS, referencing an article in the UK TIMES that criticised Nigeria’s corruption. “What spurred us to action was an article in the UK TIMES that said Nigeria as a country is so corrupt that it is better to burn aid money than give it to Nigeria,” he said.
While noting that the firm has gained wider international recognition for this ground-breaking innovative work, Owonibi said CHATS utilises blockchain technology to ensure transparency and enables donors and NGOs to quickly register beneficiaries, mobilise cash and donations in kind programs with real-time monitoring and reporting.
He highlighted the app’s successful implementation, stating,
“A success story we recorded recently was with the Red Cross when we stopped the diversion of drugs. The practice before was to go to the Internally Displaced Persons camps with them but by the next day, it would be found at the pharmacy and chemist.
“So our solution in working with the Red Cross was to identify the beneficiaries and know persons who benefit from the malaria vaccines and the drugs. We onboarded them and with a QR code, they could visit the chemist, scan and then get their drugs and the chemist gets his money from the app directly. In that case, nobody is hoarding anything and no one will get anything if they are not treated.
“For us, aid distribution transparency is key, and apart from that transparency is to give confidence to both local and international donors.”
Owoniyi, therefore, urged the government to consider using the method to regain public trust in the various social safety net programmes currently implemented by the current administration.
“The next thing is to encourage the government to use this solution to bind citizens’ trust as the bulk of the project is going through social safety nets, and we believe with a solution like this, the government can become transparent and donors will be able to trace the impact of their monies, knowing the money was used for the right purposes,” he said.
He disclosed that the firm has built solutions for the Central Bank of Nigeria and partnered the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) to protect transparency and best data practices and is presently forging more partnerships with other government agencies.
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