The Dobody app identifies what disadvantaged areas across the country lack so donors can meet local people’s actual needs.
Phan Bá Mạnh, founder and CEO of Dobody, an online app matching exchanges of goods and services, has launched a trial of Dobody’s charitable-relief app.
“After three days, 1,200 users had joined. The following week, we officially began operating. Dobody expects to attract 500,000 users after one month,” Mạnh said. He and his colleagues are currently working with the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Vietnam Red Cross Society to recruit local volunteers as communication channels for charitable organizations.
The founder, born in 1981, said his team’s motivation to build a charitable-relief app came from a famous individual’s fundraising of tens of billions of dong during the recent floods in Central Vietnam. “When that person’s charitable appeal encountered difficulties, my friend, singer Thái Thùy Linh, discussed the idea with me. With experience from Dobody and a technical team already in place, I contributed suggestions to implement Linh’s proposal,” Mạnh shared.
Phan Bá Mạnh
Although charitable activity has been quite lively recently, in practice not every shipment goes smoothly because information is delayed or inaccurate. Charitable organizations do not know clearly what each place needs or what support other organizations have already provided. This leads to some places receiving too much while others receive nothing.
‘I discussed with my technical team an application that could connect people or overcome the limitations in relief efforts. Everyone was enthusiastic and immediately began implementation,’ the young CEO said.
Developing a charity support app on the existing Dobody ecosystem became straightforward because Dobody's intelligent matching algorithms were designed around the principle of using surpluses to meet shortages. After nearly a month, the project team could trial the “Charitable Relief” app on Dobody's technology platform.
The product's distinguishing feature is its charity map, which gives users an overview and a clear picture of emergency relief needs.
This is also a social network where users can post articles and photos and call on the community to support affected areas. Information is updated continuously, allowing people at home and abroad to follow events. Each area's needs and shortages are color-coded by food, clothing, school supplies, funding, healthcare and clean water, helping charitable organizations provide timely, sufficient relief.
Designed to serve the community, the interface is convenient and easy to use for anyone with a smartphone.
“We built this application to give the community a free tool for supporting people in difficult circumstances more effectively. We ultimately hope to hand the app over to a charitable organization to operate,” Mạnh said.
Dobody plans to officially launch its “Charitable Relief” product early next week. The team continues upgrading the version and adding more functions to best support individuals or organizations needing assistance. The app is currently available on both 2 platforms, IOS and Android.
Earlier, in month 1 this year, Dobody launched after a bug-testing trial involving more than 4,000 Hanoi University of Industry students.
Mr. Mạnh shared that his ambition for this project was not simply to deal with discarded goods; the product was actually a supply-and-demand matching platform built on Google's technology.
Using location and users' surplus or unmet needs, the software offers convenient, effective matching suggestions. It runs in both web browsers and smartphone apps. It is also a place where people can share the difficulties faced by poor communities through charitable donations.
To pursue his startup idea, Mạnh left a leadership position at a company and invested all his savings plus borrowed funds totaling several billion đồng. After nearly a year of operation, Dobody is beginning to earn revenue and has grown to 20 employees.
With his firm resolve, Mr. Mạnh helped Dobody successfully attract capital from 3 domestic and international angel investors.
Collected
