App-created opportunity: a united front

Across Africa, every day, more than 40,000 people arrive at a city, hoping for a chance for better employment and a better life, according to the International Finance Corporation. But with a critical lack of affordable housing provision, many have no choice but to turn to the slums. In fact, according to research in Nature magazine, 53 million Africans live in these types of communities. Building more affordable housing is obviously one solution. But this is far from a quick fix, and in the meantime, there is an urgent need to put in place strategies to improve these living conditions. Unlikely partners This is where a new partnership between proptech company and affordable housing developer Planet Smart City and the United Nations comes in. It’s not everyday that you hear of a partnership such as this forged, but the London-headquartered start-up, which designs and builds affordable housing and integrates technology solutions into their developments, is rolling out an app alongside the UN for slum communities to use in order to organise events, access educational resources, and advertise business services to create a local economy. The app will be rolled out across of two of the largest slum communities in Nairobi, in Kenya: Kibera and Mathare. The plan has been over a year in the making, when last February, Planet Smart City first crossed paths with the UN. The start-up was invited to talk at the NGO’s Habitat conference – which promotes the development of socially and environmentally sustainable places – in Abu Dhabi. It was there that the beginnings of a partnership was formed. Initial meetings opened an unexpected opportunity for the start-up. Previously, the company had worked on affordable housing projects replacing low-quality housing settlements in Brazil and India, but had never worked on a project like this. “Through many discussions, and a lot of learning, we saw what they wanted to do in Nairobi in Kenya, and it seemed like a real opportunity to try out some of what we have learned,” says Planet Smart City chief digital strategy leader Alan Marcus, who is leading the project. “These urban centres, these Metropolitan areas, are in desperate need for housing. We’re not saying that we can fix that problem by going in and building a lot of houses – every community, every country, is very different. What we want to be able to do is at least take what we’ve learned and see if we can apply it to the informal settlements they have in the Nairobi area [in Kibera and Mathare].” Marcus says that the app will help to “create engaging opportunities that can change their lives”. But what could this look like in practice? Marcus outlines an app solution which the company put in place in Italy which could also be put in place in Nairobi.  Gaining insight The app allowed the local community to identify areas of high food wastage in their area – which could be a catering company dumping a lot of leftover food – and coordinate how to redistribute that food to people in need. “Tonnes of waste [was pulled] out of that food chain in the matter of a month and redistributed to people who are hungry,” he says. People will also be able to advertise business services on the app, providing a platform whereby people can build their income, Marcus says. As the use of the app grows, there will also be a “gold mine of information” collected which will be invaluable for research purposes. “The ability to really understand what is happening in these communities can better direct UN and local government resources, research institutions around the world, on where social impact is happening, and where we’re failing,” Marcus says. “The more information we can provide to those types of organisations, the better.” The data is also critical for the local community to use and harness too, he says, as they can look to see what services people use the most, and identify how access to these services could improve.  What are the key challenges Marcus expects to face? “In terms of challenges from a jurisdictional standpoint within Kenya, we’re hoping the UN is going to lead the way in overcoming those and building the right relationships with local government,” he says.  Building relationships But the key concern Marcus has is introducing the tool to the slum community in a way that is sensitively, and effectively, done. Dumping a digital infrastructure on these communities without building relationships first will harm the project, he says. “Our challenges as a company in this particular programme are going to be around the notion of working with community leaders. We’re bringing them new ideas, new tools, new ways of thinking.  “We think there are always challenges that come with that. We are coming from Europe into Africa with these ideas that immediately would raise flags in that community. Certainly if I was living there it would raise flags.” Build these relationships right, and Marcus says the communities will work together with Planet Smart City and the UN to make the project a success. “We think that by identifying the right local community leaders and showing them what we’ve done in low income communities – not just in Europe, but in Brazil and India – we think they will find we do have some value.  “As long as we continue to show and evolve that and build that trust, we will look to them to help us overcome the larger barriers.” To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette Photo © Billy Mutai/SOPA Images/Shutterstock