GRAND’ANSE RELIEF AND RECOVERY PROGRAM (GRRP) MOBILE MONEY TRANSFERS

The Why? The situation of food insecurity in the Grand’Anse department of Haiti concerned for both local government and international institutions (a) passage of Hurricane Tomas, from November 4 to 6, 2010, caused severe damage to the agricultural sector in Grand’Anse, with a loss of approximately 25,469 ha of crops, or 32% of total loss in Haiti; (b) onset of the cholera epidemic in the department, with a total of 14,741 recorded cases, caused shifts in expenditures from food to medicine and burials, population flight to the cities, and a decrease in available human capital due to illness/death, reducing planting and harvest capacities; and (c) a dry season, lasting one and half months longer than normal, hampering timely agricultural production from the first 2011 harvest.

The Who? The total number of households targeted for the food voucher intervention is approximately 6,995 households based on a 6-member family (41,970 direct beneficiaries). This represents approximately 25% of the population in each of the targeted communes, which are estimated to be food insecure. Beneficiary selection Included criteria to identify households deemed to be poor or very poor and thus at high risk of food insecurity. Poor – Own less than.32 hectares of land – 1-2 midsized animals (i.e.: goats or pigs) Very Poor – Mainly sharecroppers or manual laborers with no other income sources; No land and no livestock Vulnerability Criteria – Orphans and/or internally displaced persons – Child head of household – People living with HIV – Widows – Pregnant and lactating women – Adult members who are unable to engage in sustained livelihood activities due to age, disability, or illness (including cholera)

The Where? 1/3 peri-urban with mobile reception (i.e. Jeremie) 2,700 beneficicaries

Context of the e- voucher 1. Program participant phones are NOT required: participant phones are not necessarily used in the transaction process 2. $50/month is put on the e-Voucher card CRS would like to enable the program participant to keep a balance on the e-Voucher account for 60 days.

E voucher steps 1- Register Merchants 2- Manage e-vouchers 3- Redeem e-vouchers 4- Merchants Transfers 5- Reports

Merchant Database

Merchant Information

2- Manage E-voucher.

E voucher screen

Display voucher

Refill voucher

3- Redeem e-voucher ( 7 transactions) Type *202# send 6.Deposit 7. Withdrawal 8. redeem voucher 8 [send] Enter voucher ID Answer: 1234 Enter purchase amount Answer:300 Please pass the phone to the beneficiary to enter secret PIN then press send to ensure privacy Please e voucher PIN to confirm the payment Answer: ****** Payment of 300 gdes receive from e voucher ID

5- Reports

Report format

Digicel staff Record and train the program participants Record and train the merchants on the system CRS Staff The office manager manages the database, refills the e-voucher and verifies the transaction E-voucher: Staff Support

Physical Cost -5 US per voucher, to be printed in Dominican Republic -At least 3 CRS animators for each fair -Security agent to be paid Efficiency -10 days of data entry after each fair -One day to serve all the beneficiaries Electronic Cost -.60 US cents per transaction, -No one from CRS is needed -No security agent to be paid Efficiency -No data entry, data available during transactions -Transaction can be made during the entire month E-voucher: Key Benefits

E-voucher: Key challenges

Contract development and negotiation – Haitian lawyer Utilization of knowledgeable community members to educate program participants Develop effective training materials – many photos and graphics Lessons Learned – mobile money transfers

Payment to vendors – depends on if mobile companies can offer higher amounts Possible applications with SILC groups Can be used in other emergency situations Way Forward – mobile money with CRS/Haiti

Thank you!