Viamo
Location
Global
Sector
Communications
Type of Investment
Risk Capital
Project Stage
Test & Transition
Length of Investment
2021+
Website
Investment Overview
The Viamo platform improves access to information, education, and vital services by making it easier for governments, multilateral agencies and civil society organisations to communicate with disconnected communities through innovative mobile technology in local languages.
The Development Challenge
People who have no access to knowledge and information, such as the internet, are limited in their capacity for social and economic development. By linking people to communication processes and media, Communication for Development (C4D) plays a crucial role in advancing positive development outcomes. Because of low literacy rates, poor infrastructure and high language diversity, reaching poor populations in poorer countries is challenging, expensive, and often fraught with inefficiency in terms of targeting the right audience and measuring effectiveness.
The Innovation
Viamo is a global leader in mobile engagement, dedicated to connecting businesses and governments to people in low connectivity environments. Operating in over 25 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, Viamo’s platform facilitates interactive mobile communications, empowering organisations to make data-driven decisions while amplifying social impact. Through key partnerships with global organisations such as the United Nations, USAID, and various NGOs, Viamo is transforming the way outreach is conducted, ensuring that millions have access to critical information and can communicate their needs and feedback, regardless of their location or literacy level. Viamo’s latest innovation integrates Generative AI, enabling its callers to Ask Viamo Anything using only a simple non-smartphone at zero cost.
Our Investment
GIF lead Viamo’s Series A round, investing $1.5m in equity in 2021. GIF’s investment enabled Viamo to expand and deepen its operations, and continue to develop and innovate its product offerings for its customers and callers. GIF provided follow on funding of $460k in 2023.
Theory of change
Access to free, on-demand information via the Viamo platform empowers the poor with knowledge for informed decision-making. It offers a wide range of topics, including education, agriculture, and health, enhanced by Generative AI, allowing users to Ask Viamo Anything. For farmers, Viamo provides insights into weather patterns and climate-smart farming techniques, improving yields and income. Health outcomes can also benefit from increased awareness of maternal health and reproductive care, nutrition, hygiene, and disease prevention. Moreover, access to educational resources and vocational training boosts employability, especially for women and youth, while information on legal rights and government services fosters a more equitable society.
Why we invested
Viamo’s technology is built around simple mobile phones; the most prevalent device for the world’s poorest people.
Viamo’s platform democratises access to information, improving poor people’s access to information for free to aid their decision making, in a way that then improves their overall access to markets, goods and services.
GIF’s investment will help Viamo amplify the impact of many other development sector innovations, as well as help improve transparency and data driven cost effective decision making.
Viamo in numbers
Users accessing information through Generative AI
User benefits in 2023
Monthly active users by 2028