Viamo is a global social enterprise that’s improving lives via mobile technology. Viamo believes that information is power and leverages the fact that almost all households in low-income countries have access to a basic mobile phone. Viamo helps organizations collect data, either from their beneficiaries or the general population, through mobile. Literacy and smartphones are not required. Each campaign can be stand-alone automated phone surveys or integrated into a mobile-delivered behavior change campaign, such as audio-based agricultural extension, pregnancy calendars, remote worker training, and more.
Fast Facts
Method
Electronic surveys
Tech Requirements
Low tech: SMS, phone calls, radio, IVR
Cost
$$
Location
Global
Language
English, French, Multiple Languages
Testimonials
“What better way to help Ugandan farmers than to teach them to help themselves, and their mother tongues.”
Tony Kisadha
Uganda Director
“Viamo technology has changed the way we do things. They’ve improved the voice services we have been using which had limitations and lots of technological problems. Using Viamo, we can create surveys and use them easily in programs. They have simplified the way we are working. Our content is more interactive now.”
Kaasim Sheghembe
“The use of voice messaging is particularly promising as it is able to reach populations with low levels of literacy.”
UNDP (3-2-1 Innovation)
“Alliance Magazine: What has suddenly got 100 times cheaper and 10 times faster? According to a new study by the Center for Global Development and the World Bank, citizen feedback in poor countries. Working with Viamo, they reduced the costs of surveying citizens by more than 95 percent. As some 77 percent of the world’s population now has access to a mobile phone, it is easier than ever to gather direct feedback”
Civic solutions: a new era for citizen feedback
Viamo can help you in the following stages of your feedback journey:
Designdown arrow
Viamo helps to adapt surveys to be delivered via mobile phone. This includes modifying the language, format, determining the gender and tone of the speaker, creating a meaningful introduction, considering whether incentives are appropriate, and more. We can field test our surveys by going into the field, or running small pilots.
Collectdown arrow
Viamo collects data using Interactive Voice Response surveys. Respondents receive a phone call and interact with a pre-recorded voice using the keypads on their basic mobile phone. Responses are typically quantitative, but open-ended questions can also be asked to generate qualitative data via voicemail. Viamo sends out the surveys, either to a known list of beneficiaries, or using random digit dialing. They can also host ongoing longitudinal surveys on their platform ensuring respondents are distributed around the country and other targeted demographics are reached.
Analyzedown arrow
Viamo’s partners see the results both through a real-time dashboard, and receive the raw data in a spreadsheet. Single variable analysis is provided with all surveys. More advanced analysis provided through partners can also be explored as requested.
Dialoguedown arrow
Viamo’s behavior change communication campaigns allow you to build feedback mechanisms directly into the intervention. Whether educating mothers about newborn health, or informing farmers about fair market prices, surveys can be included directly into these phone interactions, and real time data provided to our partner.
Course Correctdown arrow
Viamo’s behaviour change communications campaigns are easily corrected. We can simply re-script and re-record messaging based on the feedback we receive.
The Details
What makes Viamo so unique is that its surveys can be designed, implemented, and a final report available within weeks, even for very large sample sizes. There is no need to pay for enumerators. Users do not have to read or write, have a smartphone, or use their own data & airtime plan. Viamo can also specifically target your beneficiaries (if provided a phone number list), the general population (through random digit dialing), or a segment of the population (ex. Female farmers who access wheat information and spend less than $2/month on airtime in northern Afghanistan).
Method and Tech Requirements
Through telecom partnerships, data visualization and Interactive Voice Response (IVR,) clients are able to make their content free, visualize their data in real-time web dashboards, and reach anyone with access to a mobile phone in their own language respectively.
Cost
Viamo’s surveys start at $8,000. There is a base price of $5,000 that includes the cost of coordination and building out the survey and dashboard for reporting. Factors that determine additional costs include:
- Country (airtime rates vary greatly)
- Sample size
- Number of languages
- Number of rounds
Location
While our 32 country offices are primarily in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, we can call almost any phone in the world. Contact Viamo to see exactly which features are available in your country. Free-to-access 3-2-1 hotline is available in 20 countries in Africa and Asia and works well for those without cell phones or internet access as well as those in areas with low literacy rates. See website for a list of countries where the hotline is available.
Language
Website offered in English and French. Viamo takes care of translation and recording of content into ALL and ANY required languages.
Learn more
Listen4Good has been a successful partner in implementing closed feedback loops throughout their work and across the FBL membership. Check out more below!
Case Studies
Read the case studies that demonstrate how Viamo’s services help their partners achieve their impact goals across a variety of countries and sectors.
Partners
Viamo now has representatives in more than 35 major markets in Africa and Asia. They reach more than 100,000 people per day– more than 35 million people accessed 290 million messages and consumed 1 billion airtime minutes in 2021. The most rigorous international organizations are using Viamo’s mobile engagement services. People who use this tool include World Bank, UNICEF, Facebook, African and Asian governments, USAID, and Stanford Medicine.
Featured on the Feedback Labs site
- Can Mobile Phone Surveys Be 100 Times Cheaper and 10 Times Faster?
- Do Mobile Phone Surveys Work in Poor Countries? (Viamo formerly known as Voto)