Oluseun Onigbinde 

Raising standards of accountability in government

We have seen a substantial rise in philanthropy in Africa during COVID-19 pandemic. Various individuals, corporate organizations and foreign governments have been donating funds to aid COVID-19 response in Nigeria. However, there is lack of clarity on how the donations are spent which is why BudgIT is working to track government expenditure on COVID-19 response measures implemented, advocating transparency in the Nigerian government on budget and expenditure.

Entrepreneur Name: Oluseun Onigbinde, Ashoka Fellow  

Organization:  BudgIT 

Country: Nigeria 

Website: www.yourbudgit.com 

Field of action: Combatting fake news and corruption

Needs support to achieve greater impact in: Fundraising 

The mission of the social enterprise before and after Coronavirus

BudgIT is a Nigerian civic organization that applies technology to facilitate societal change. BudgIT uses an array of tech tools to show the average Nigerian citizen how the government works. Simplifying the public budget and government public spending for citizens, with the primary aim of raising standards of transparency and accountability in the government.  BudgIT’s work revolves around:

  • Providing simplified access to budgets and related public finance data, project monitoring for efficient service delivery;
  • Promoting accountability and fiscal inclusion in the extractive industries; and
  • Supporting the willing government, media, and civil society institutions.

Tracka (BudgIT’s project-tracking tool) is now functional in 20 Nigerian states. It allows Nigerians to post pictures of developmental projects in their communities, with BudgIT’s project officers aiding citizens offline to communicate with their elected representatives, and demand completion of the government projects in their neighborhoods.

Governments are receiving funds to aid COVID-19 responses. However, no one is tracking the funding and expenditures of the Government.   

BudgIT is on a mission to:

  • Track government funding and expenditures on COVID-19 crisis.
  • Help citizens understand the public sector reports the government is sharing with citizens and business owners to help them survive the period of the pandemic.
  • Champion citizens to engage their government and ask questions on the state of funds they received during the pandemic.

Over 100 000 Nigerian citizens have interacted with the platform and have had the opportunity to engage their government and ask questions on the state of funds, funds received from individuals, corporate organizations, and governments of other countries. BudgIThopes that the Nigerian government (state and federal) is accountable for all the expenditures on COVID-19 response interventions. This is to make sure that the funds received work for the people of Nigeria. BudgIT plans to work with Connected Development and Global Integrity on COVID-19 fund accountability across Africa.

Create the post-COVID world. 

Help Oluseun and his team develop their solution!

BudgIT‘s concrete needs facing COVID-19:

  • Digital expertise: to build a pan-African platform on the resources provided for COVID-19 by African Governments. The team needs support on technology development and strategic thinking on idea development.
  • Marketing and communications: to develop marketing messages for the public in 10 Africa countries.
  • Personal coaching: Leadership and team coaching on development of sustainable business models focused on data analysis and artificial intelligence.
  • Advocacy: to review their advocacy plan and learning framework for engagement across Africa countries.
  • Funding and Financing: to finance the balance of their phase 1 project (506 000 USD) and the phase 2 project (2,5 mn USD).
SUPPORT