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October 31, 2016 Mobile Accord, Inc. (MAI), a U.S registered small business, joined the Small Business Association for International Compani6es (SBAIC) this month as a full member.
MAI, through its mobile survey platform GeoPoll, provides real-time data and information to be used for activity design, adaptive program management, and monitoring and evaluation across all technical sectors.
SBAIC is a membership forum established to promote the meaningful utilization of small business in international development. Members are small companies in good standing with a solid track record of providing services to USAID and other federal agencies around the world. SBAIC currently has 167 members, of which more than half are small disadvantaged businesses.
GeoPoll and USAID
GeoPoll has extensive experience working in international development, including with USAID, World Food Programme, Gates Foundations, and others. GeoPoll partners with USAID and USAID-funded projects that span food security, governance, youth, health, and emergency interventions.
Under USAID’s Liberia Media Development program, GeoPoll collects monthly data across 2,400 Liberians regarding listenership, viewership, and usage across TV, radio, print and digital. We then work with implementing partners and media entities to strengthen the sustainability of media houses, and a freer media, in Liberia. For the first time ever in Liberia, media data is being used by local media outlets, such as the Liberia Media Center and Press Union of Liberia, to determine station performance, profitability, and growth.
On the USAID Kenya Youth Employment and Skills Program (K-YES), GeoPoll examines youth market conditions, employment opportunities and financial awareness. Geo-referencing capabilities enable us to focus on the 5 focal counties of the K-YES activity, sending surveys within 24 hours to individuals who have recently received trainings by K-YES; GeoPoll also follows up with beneficiaries months later to identify long-term trends and impact of K-YES interventions.
Previously, GeoPoll supported the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) project to understand the supply chain and food trade during Ebola. GeoPoll developed a panel of food and market traders in a variety of sectors (such as palm oil and cassava) in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The panel-based bi-weekly and monthly surveys collected data on food trade supplier availability, frequency of trade, and market availability over one year.
For more information on SBAIC, visit their website.