GiveDirectly, a US-based non-profit organisation, has started an experiment in Malawi that gives $700 free cash to 230,000 adults to help reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth.
According to the organisation, the money is given with no conditions, meaning people can spend it on whatever they want, saying it is its biggest cash project ever.
The aim is to test if giving people money directly can help them start businesses and grow the local economy.
In Chiradzulu District, one of the people who got the money, John Gibson Duncan, used it with his family to buy a sewing machine. He was seen on Monday working on his house and using the machine.
“After receiving the money, each family member contributed some money, and we bought the sewing machine you see here,” he said.
Field workers from GiveDirectly were also seen registering new people and giving them mobile phones to receive the money.
Another woman, Linda Newula, who is still waiting for her money, said she already knows what she will do with it.
“I will use my money to plaster my house and apply cement on the floor. And I plan to use the remaining cash to buy some food,” she said.
The organisation says people know what they need most.
“Through our interaction with recipients, we found that people know what they need,” said Esnart Gondwe Matekesa, who leads the programme in Malawi.
She added that only a few people misuse the money.
Researchers from Oxford University and IDinsight are following the project to see how people spend the money and if it helps create jobs and businesses.
A similar project in Kenya showed that giving people cash helped the local economy grow.
Credit: Viory
