Haiti faced one of the worst earthquakes in the history of mankind leaving it completely devastated. It also made sure that more than 33% of the banks and ATM’s in the country are included in this massive phenomenon of destruction. Although before the catastrophe hit them only 10% of the population were using traditional banking.

The U.S. Agency for International Development joining hands with The Gates Foundation to ensure a complete makeover by funding $10 million to encourage cell phone banking and payments through mobile. This is an effort to revive the financial ecosystem in Haiti and take the funds to the poor.

Companies who will put up mobile financial services in Haiti shall be awarded with cash prizes. The first nation that implements a mobile banking service within the coming 6 months and achieves its specified goals shall be entitled to get $2.5 million dollar. The company following them at second position by achieving the target in 12 months would receive $1.5 million. The rest of the amount will be distributed to those who process the initial 5 million transactions.

Mark Suzman, acting president of the Global Development Program at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation stated, “Out of the ruins of Haiti’s tragic earthquake, there is an unprecedented opportunity to improve the lives of millions of Haitians and unlock the country’s economic potential through mobile money. Making financial services widely available to the poorest families in the developing world can help break the cycle of poverty by giving them a safe place to save, guard against risks, build assets, and provide opportunities for the next generation.”

M-Pesa, a similar initiative in Kenya has already reached 9 million people which is about 40% of the adult population of Kenya in just about 3 years from its inception. This has tremendously boosted people involved with the initiative in Haiti. By using M-Pesa once can pay off a variety of services such as taxi fares, school fees etc through their phone which resulted in an increase by 5% to 30% in their household income.