Gram Vaani (OnionDev Technologies Pvt Ltd)
Organization Details
Gram Vaani is an award-winning social technology enterprise, empowering underserved communities through inclusive technology solutions. By engaging in consultative processes with communities, GV ensures technology projects are designed collaboratively, avoiding top-down imposition. GV focuses on building appropriate technologies for community-led development, creating hyperlocal & inclusive conversational spaces for marginalized populations. GV’s mission involves developing community focused tools & communication platforms, like Mobile Vaani, accessible on basic phones, facilitating participatory communication channels for rural & urban low-income population segments. Through voice-first interfaces & innovative use of technologies-AI/ML/NLP, GV addresses information asymmetry, promotes inclusivity & collective action-distributed moderation tools, automated question-answering systems, multi-channel voice interfaces (WA, Smart app, Web app) & GIS-tools for natural-resource management.
Impact Story
Kotwal, a Mobile Vaani (MV) user in Madhya Pradesh, faced challenges securing disability pension for his sister Kirma. Despite reaching out to officials, Kirma's benefits were elusive until Kotwal recorded his grievance on MV. Volunteers swiftly assisted, facilitating document submission and ensuring Kirma received her pension.
With over 50% of users in the working age bracket, a monthly disposable income of under Rs5000, 35% women, and nearly 30% in agriculture, MV serves the most underserved. The network at its currents scale offering a potential reach to 8Mn+ households, provides a bottom-up alternative-challenging constraints of conventional media, perils of social media & pitfalls of tech. Development agencies leverage the platform for crowd-sourced data on government scheme performance and health messaging, fostering citizen-government engagement. Impact stories include empowering young girls as community reporters, raising awareness of government schemes & mobilizing communities against issues like corruption and alcoholism. Over the years, we have seen how information acquired through the MV platform has helped people in transforming their lives. These individuals and families, belonging to diverse groups of farmers, landless labor, unorganized sector workers, women, physically challenged individuals etc., live at the margins. MV platforms have been repurposed for gender mainstreaming, youth engagement & career guidance, social security, entitlement security. Its participatory approach reduces knowledge gaps & fosters behavior change. Information services & hyperlocal conversations contribute valuable ground truth, community voices & data insights for informed decision-making at various levels – examples include community voices that highlight climate related changes, issues & resilience efforts led by communities provide insights for FPO’s, climate focused organizations & policy inputs as well.
