I love discovering new brands, especially those who
are using their company to raise awareness and help women around the world.
When I first heard from Kim of Kidogo Kidogo, I was immediately drawn to
their gorgeous cell phone cases & innovative business model helping women receive
life changing mobile phones & technology in Tanzania. Basically, for each
phone case purchased from Kidogo Kidogo, a phone or phone credit is
donated to women in Tanzania. Something we take for granted everyday {and
something I tend to spend waaaay too much time on} is incredibly vital to women
around the world. Phones aren’t just a means for communication – they’re a
watch, a radio, a way to make banking transactions, and receive health
reminders and updates. 

I had the pleasure of asking Kim Waber, the
co-founder of Kidoogo
Kidogo a few questions about starting her own business and the
impact it’s made in the lives of women living in Tanzania. 

CS: First off, what does kidogo
kidogo mean?

KW:  kidogo kidogo, pronounced key-dough-go
key-dough-go, translates to “little by little” in Swahili, the main language
spoken in the African country of Tanzania. When we were thinking of names we
wanted something that tied the company to Tanzania and we wanted something that
reflected our mission. In the end we thought kidogo kidogo was perfect since
the name is in Swahili and it is exactly how we plan to make a difference, one
phone at a time, little by little.

CS:  Cell
phones are definitely something I take for granted everyday. How have you seen
women’s life change once being provided with phones through your company?

KW: During our first phone delivery co-founder,
Kristen Waeber, was able to meet with the women and hear their stories and
learn how these phones were going to impact their lives. One woman, Tabia, a
widow, previously owned a phone, but three months ago she attended a funeral
for her mother in another region of Tanzania. There she found much of her
family were in worse financial shape than she was. Tabia left her phone for her
family, knowing it was so valuable that by leaving it behind she would be
helping her family.  Another women, Asha, has three children and started a
small business selling items like salt, sugar and vegetables. She is using her
new phone to repay the small business loan she received to get her business running
through mobile banking. The ability to make payments at the push of a button
versus having to travel to meet loan officers is letting her spend more time
growing her business.

A phone is so much more than a device for
communication. For these women a phone is a bank since they can use mobile
financial services to keep their money, it is a radio when they could not
afford one, it is a flashlight when there is no electricity, it is an
information source, it is a calculator, the list goes on and on.

We see every day how valuable phones are in our
lives. For these women it is really no different.

CS:   What
experience made you want to start kidogo kidogo, & how did that inspire you
to create your own business?

KW: The idea for kidogo kidogo came from my sister,
Kristen. Having spent a lot of time working in the telecommunications sector in
the developing world, she knew a lot about the value that a mobile phone played
in people’s lives.  She attended mobile health conferences and heard of
how mobile phones are used to send free mosquito net vouchers to people to
prevent malaria. She heard from farmers who told her that by accessing
market-pricing information on their mobile phones they were able to make more
money selling their crops. And heard directly from women about how a phone
gives them the power of information to help them run their businesses more
effectively. After having read a report by the GSMA called Women & Mobile a
Global Opportunity, she learned that women in Africa were 23% less likely than men
to own a mobile phone and that the main barrier to ownership was the cost of a
handset. When she called me with the idea to get people in the U.S. to
contribute to buying women in Africa mobile phones by purchasing iPhone cases,
I loved it and kidogo kidogo was born.

CS:  What’s
been the most challenging part about becoming an entrepreneur, {especially one
that balances work between two countries!} & how have you over come
them? 

KW: You are exactly right! One of the challenges is
finding time to talk to each other.  Being 8 hours apart and both working
full time, it’s hard to find time when we are both awake and not working.
Typically, I stay up late and she will wake up early before work, or if one of
us is having a hard time sleeping, we will sneak in a call. Thank goodness for
Facetime and Skype!

CS: What’s been the most
rewarding part of your job?

KW: The most rewarding part has undoubtedly been
delivering the phones. Hearing the women’s stories and goals are amazing, and
knowing that it is because of people in the U.S. care about them is really
inspiring. It’s what keeps the long days and nights worth it!

CS:  How can
we {as bloggers and women} get more involved? 

KW: Tell others about kidogo kidogo! The more
iPhone cases that get sold the more women we are going to be able to give
mobile phones. We also want to move into retail stores, so anyone who knows of
any retailers who would be interested in carrying our cases, we’d love to hear
from them. We would love to be in more blogs and publications to share the
message and increase awareness. We also appreciate social media follows, likes,
and retweets! You can find us on Twitter and Instagram: @kidogo_kidogo, and Facebook
and Pinterest: Kidogo Kidogo.

Also, just let us know what you think. We would
love to get more feedback, it’s the only way we can improve, so don’t be shy,
let us know what you think!