Mobile technology for social change.

HQ Location: Kenya

Launched in 2004, FrontlineSMS is the brainchild of Ken Banks. During his work at Kruger National Park, Banks noticed that instead of the Internet, outlying communities used mobile phones for all communication needs. Following six weeks of “recoding on the kitchen table,” the FrontlineSMS interface was born. With a diverse range of functions – including FrontlineSMS: Credit, which allows users to send and receive mobile payments, as well as FrontlineSMS:Radio, enabling twoway dialogue between broadcasting companies and listeners in marginalized communities – FrontlineSMS is able to constantly evolve to match the development of mobile technology. Validating the organization’s commitment to a free, open-source platform, users downloaded the software 20,000 times in 2011 alone.

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