D2

In Bangladesh, 8 out of 10 workers live on an income of less than US$5 per day in PPP. These workers, most of whom live in rural areas and overcrowded urban centers, are susceptible to illegal migration, criminal behavior, and other unwanted forces.

Users register as a D2 agent by installing our Android app and creating a profile containing personal details, education information and preferred payment method. A registered agent can discover and complete data collection tasks from the app. These tasks are created by our business customers looking to capture observations from the ground like conducting surveys, tracking prices, verifying addresses, and so on. After successfully completing a task, the agent is paid in mobile money or airtime. This model leverages falling smartphone prices, expanding mobile internet coverage, and open source technologies.

Since starting operations in 2017, we have successfully completed 3 pilots, employing 68 agents. These agents earned between USD 9 and USD 14 per day. The pilots unlocked a previously inaccessible income stream for unemployed agents and provided supplementary income for employed agents at a significantly higher rate than their existing jobs.