Self Help Africa
How HiddenApp helped Self Help Africa keep track of devices across nine countries in Africa.
Self Help Africa is a non-profit international development agency that’s committed to tackling poverty and improving the lives of rural communities in nine countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Its African staff and local partners work together across a variety of programmes that focus on developing rural businesses in a myriad of ways: such as through enterprise development, improving gender equality, microfinancing, and climate change resilience.
ICT Administrator John Fletcher is responsible for managing Self Help Africa’s fleet of mobile devices. “There are so many people working on different projects across nine countries, so it’s quite a challenge to keep track of all the devices out there,” John says. In addition, because all the devices are funded through donor contributions, the agency wanted not just to take proper care of those donor-funded assets, but also to demonstrate that it was doing so cost-effectively.
“We’re extremely conscious that everything we do is donor-funded,” says John, “and we’re proud that 93% of donations go directly to our community projects, with only 7% spent on admin. I wanted to continue to keep IT admin costs low, so I was looking for something cost-effective to help me track and locate lost or misplaced devices, rather than replace them. I didn’t want the solution to cost more than the benefits. I was impressed with what HiddenApp could do for us.”
Simple tracking
Self Help Africa operates mostly in the rural communities of nine countries, supporting small-scale farmers across countries within sub-Saharan Africa, including Burundi, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia. Millions of people subsist below the poverty line, and mobile devices are vital to the agency’s operations to support the farmers. “Mobile devices are a game-changer when it comes to our people on the ground,” John says, “They enable better communication and a whole host of other benefits for our operational staff. That’s why it’s my job to make sure they’re always fully equipped. With HiddenApp’s easy track and locate features, I don’t have to worry about lost devices.” Self Help Africa can also rely on HiddenApp’s remote lock and wipe feature, enabling protection of sensitive data should a device go permanently missing.
Double savings
HiddenApp’s cost effective pricing structure helped John make the easy decision to trial HiddenApp across his fleet. He says, “HiddenApp enabled me to have total visibility of the fleet for a relatively low cost.” HiddenApp’s super-accurate location tracking and cost-effectiveness gives Self Help Africa an affordable way to recover lost devices, avoiding the cost of replacements.
Easy set up
Registering of the fleet was easy, “ he says, “and the interface is very user-friendly. It’s a very simple task to switch from a big picture overview of the fleet, to drill down to individual devices.”
Demonstrable governance
Being entirely donor-funded, Self Help Africa is conscious of its responsibility to use those funds with care, and it’s formed a strong governance process to ensure that agency assets are looked after properly. “HiddenApp is a line of defence against loss and the cost of replacement,” says John, “and it clearly demonstrates to our governors and funders our commitment to good governance over the agency assets.”
Why Self Help Africa selected HiddenApp
