Kita Jaga, a digital social mobile app aimed at supporting individuals and families most impacted by the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, is looking to raise RM200,000 through a charity crowdfunding campaign on GlobalSadaqah.
GlobalSadaqah is an Islamic social finance platform focusing on corporate social responsibility, Zakat and Waqf management.
The funds will also be used to increase its sustainability and financial viability and to scale its operations.
Aside from the Malaysia platform, Kitajaga App Founder Reza Razali said the team has also received numerous requests to help set up various platforms in other Southeast Asia countries like Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Given the demand, the platform is looking to roll out a new version of their local app, a localised version in the Philippines, followed by five other market countries in the coming months.
The Kita Jaga app was built by a team of local developers at Terato Tech, a Malaysian full-service mobile app development company, amidst the white flag movement or #KibarBenderaPutih.
The web app was initially developed to test out if the concept of putting up a white flag on a digital map, with a clear call to action, would enable people to more easily provide or seek help.
Since launching two months ago, the app has proven to increase the visibility and accessibility to individuals and families in desperate need of aid but were affected by the movement control order restrictions.
A short donation drive on the platform saw strong support from the public, raising more than RM100,000 over two weeks.
With the funds, it developed and launched new features to allow the direct purchase and delivery of essential goods and food to beneficiaries and multiple enhancements to improve user privacy and security.
Since its launch in July 2021, Kitajaga pap has reportedly recorded 1.5 million unique visitors, saw 96,059 white flags raised on the platform and 20,000 people offering help.
Donors can participate in the campaign by donating from RM10 onwards.
“We recognised that there was not only demand and need to scale and expand, but also a real path to sustainability, and that is the reason why we decided to partner with GlobalSadaqah to launch this campaign.
Our decision to partner with GlobalSadaqah was due to it being one of the leading charity crowdfunding platforms in the region, and from there, we felt that there was a natural synergy,”
said Reza Razali, Founder of Kita Jaga.
Featured image: YouTube screen grab