ABUJA, NIGERIA — A new mobile application developed by Voatz was used by 16 female candidates during the Nigerian 2019 General Elections earlier this year. The application, called Women Influencing Nations, or WiN, is designed as a politically-oriented social media platform to help women candidates run for office. Using WiN, candidates are able to garner followers, share events and create posts, and even collect political donations via mobile money.
The Voatz team traveled to Nigeria during the January campaign season to assist in the roll out of WiN. In partnership with UN Women, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and Mina’s List, Voatz helped lead a two-day training and information seminar with women candidates and aspirants from around the nation.
^Voatz with the team during the training in Abuja, Nigeria
In a country that faces election corruption and distrust, the seminar focused on engaging directly with voters and building an effective campaign. Together, the Voatz team and women candidates discussed topics ranging from creating and sharing a good campaign video to the importance of collecting small donations.
The WiN app is designed with these goals in mind, providing integration with large social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook and making it easy to share posts about local events.
For the Voatz team, the opportunity was filled with inspiration. The women’s excitement was contagious and their gratitude warming. Different from our typical partners, which operate in firmly established democracies, the women are truly courageous, putting their status, reputation, and careers on the line to fight for their cause.
Opportunities such as these are invaluable to our team’s understanding of how our users interact with and receive our technology. Being immersed in cultures abroad, as many of our users are, offers unparalleled insights into how we can improve our outreach, technology, and overall mission.
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Contributor: Quinn Wilson