CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Ms Manvi Mehra, Founder & CBO, Giverly
1.) What inspired you to start Giverly and create a fintech lifestyle company with a focus on giving back to the community?
Having been deeply impact by the loss suffered by us as a race during the pandemic, I wanted to build something that enables us to inculcate ‘giving back’ effortlessly in people’s everyday habits, so we dont have to wait for something so drastic to happen for us to come together as a community. Anywhere across the west you go, you’d see people leaving a ‘one dollar tip,’ a ‘one dollar donation’ without even thinking twice about it. India, however, is a very price sensitive market..people tend to think 10 different times even while giving a Rs. 10 note here to somebody, so that ‘culture’ of giving back is something that we felt was missing here. This thought is what gave rise to Giverly and the launch of our pre-paid cards powered by Visa, which on every transaction ensure that some percentage of the transaction is donated to a charity, without the user having to pay anything extra from his/her own pockets!
2.)Explain how Giverly’s cashback-charity platform works and how it converts everyday monetary transactions into meaningful donations?
Anytime a user swipes using our card, they receive ‘impact cash’ from us on the Giverly App, which they can choose to donate to a social cause they feel strongly about. The user is, therefore, able to make a donation without having paid anything extra from his/her own pocket..simply by using the Giverly card to pay for his/her daily chores.
3.)How did you go about selecting the specific causes and issues that Giverly supports with its donations?
While doing our research, we realised that the main reason why people don’t donate regularly in India, is not so much a lack of disposable income, but more so a lack of trust and transparency in the social sector. Hence, while deciding on which charities to partner with, we were very conscious in our approach. We deployed a legal team onground, which checked for any red flags, political associations, etc and thereby chose only those charities which seem to have been doing some legit work on ground, catering to different social causes like poverty, women empowerment, animal welfare, elderly care, etc so our users can get the option of donating to whichever cause it is that they feel more strongly about.
4.) Can you provide some examples of the exclusive deals and experiences that Giverly offers to its users through its partnerships with over 1000 brands?
Oh absolutely, we have partnered with a number of both mid-level and high-end brands from fashion, lifestyle, travel and eating out spaces..mapping and covering almost everywhere a working professional in India majorly spends for leisure. Ritu Kumar, for example, offers a flat Rs.1000 off on the Giverly card, Chaayos offers a 30% discount, Ixigo offers 12% off, Giva offer Rs. 300 off and so on. A user can easily avail benefits of upto 10 lakhs in a year by just buying a Giverly card of Rs. 300 once, valid for 5 years!
5.)How do you ensure transparency and accountability in the donation process, ensuring that the funds reach the intended causes?
There are certain measures that we consciously took to ensure that we maintain full transparency with our users on the donation process, in an attempt to instill a sense of trust within them and eliminate any doubt of charity fraud from their minds. Firstly, we do not give direct money to charities..what we’ve done is carved out products with them, which our users can sponsor. For example, for Rs. 35 you can donate a food kit, for Rs. 50 you can donate a stationary kit for a kid, for Rs. 500 you can sponsor the education of a kid for a month, for Rs. 2000 you can sponsor a wheelchair, and so on. Secondly, we’ve signed stringent agreements with our onboarded charities whereby they are legally bound to send a photographic proof to us on distribution of each product that goes to them from our end. This enables us to send pictures of actual beneficiaries to our users, to further maintain full transparency. If you as a user got Rs. 105 as impact cash from your everyday spending via the Giverly card, and you decide to donate three food kits from it, you’ll get an email within 3-4 days with pictures of three different kids holding three different kits with your full name written on it, so you know that these are the exact three kids who’ve benefited from your donation.
6.)What challenges did you face while building and scaling Giverly, and how did you overcome them?
I think, just the lack of trust people have in the social sector in India has been a bit of a hindrance and that is what we’re trying to combat. Added to that, India is, in essence, a very price sensitive market..people tend to think 10 different times even before giving a Rs. 10 note to somebody like I said above. Hence, finding the right balance of personal incentivisation coupled with potential impact generation is something that we had to put a lot of thought into.
7.)How has the response been from both users and brands since the launch of Giverly’s prepaid debit cards?
Its honestly been quite overwhelming in a positive way. Its seems almost surreal to say, but we’ve not heard a ‘no’ so far. Our pitch is very simple, we tell people that if you have to go about getting dinner, or buying a shoe for yourself, you’ll go about and do it anyway..but if you just use the Giverly card to make the payment, then somebody else somewhere will get food or education with it, without you having to pay anything extra from your pocket. And given the 1000+ brand partnerships we’ve done, chances are that you’ll definitely be able to save up some money as well on every other spend that you do. So its a win-win for both you, and the society!
8.)As the founder, what is your long-term vision for Giverly, and how do you plan to expand and evolve the company in the coming years?
My long-term vision is definitely to take Giverly across the globe. It is a very globally adaptable product, and all the partnerships that we’ve done from Day 1 are also viable to get extended to any geography across the Globe. In fact, we did a 3 month pilot run in Australia first before launching in India to check the acceptability and were very happy with the results. In parallel, product diversification and innovation is something we intend to keep working on. Idea is to launch a range of innovative products, which get seamlessly integrated in people’s and companies’ everyday chores, enabling them to create an impact effortlessly.
9.)How do you see the role of fintech companies in contributing to social causes and addressing pressing issues in society?
I feel the scope is massive. At the base level, money rotation is the basic function of a society, and that coupled with technological advancements in today’s world can really be taken to explore any depths. If you give it a sincere thought, you will see that fintech companies have always aimed to uplift the society. Payment solution providers have made digital payments accessible to all segments of the society, payment gateways have made charitable donations easier, lending companies have made capital accessible to people from all segments of the society and so on. While Giverly’s impact on the society is much more apparent, I believe fintech companies have and will continue to uplift lives and help nations address the pressing social issues.
10.)Are there any upcoming features or initiatives that Giverly is working on or planning to launch in the near future?
Absolutely, we have a lot in store but all I can announce right now is that we’re launching a specific card for Founders next, which is called ‘Pheonix.’ It will offer unprecedented benefits, privileges and networking opportunities to Founders, enabling them to scale faster and cheaper, and at the same time- make free donations!
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