CAMBRIDGE, England, March 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- kiwanja.net Data Collection Enhancement Poised to Transform Rural NGO 
Initiatives

kiwanja.net, developer of mobile technologies for social change, today
announced the release of FrontlineForms - a new SMS tool which enables
low-cost, real-time data collection and aggregation for non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and field workers addressing the most pressing needs of
rural communities throughout the developing world.

"NGOs working in emerging countries face many challenges in their 
humanitarian and development initiatives - particularly in meeting the needs 
of poor rural communities," said David Edelstein, Director of Information 
and Communication Technology Innovation at Grameen Foundation's Technology 
Center. The Center focuses on harnessing the unparalleled opportunities 
information and communication technologies provide to improve the lives of 
the world's poorest people by creating jobs, improving access to health 
care, education and other services, and connecting far-flung communities to 
each other. Edelstein continued, "As access to mobile devices in rural 
communities continues to expand, appropriate mobile technologies will be 
crucial for NGOs and others helping poor people improve their lives and 
livelihoods."

Today many NGO field workers manually collect information, entering 
information into a centralised database over time - for example, when 
returning to headquarters. With the FrontlineForms tool a single mobile phone 
can be used to collect structured data while off-line. Collected data can 
then be sent via SMS from a mobile phone in the field to a central database 
where it can be aggregated, analysed and shared.

Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF) conducted field-tests of
FrontlineForms in Niger - a country of more than thirteen million people in
which remote populations live in some of the harshest deserts in the world.
"Simplicity is crucial for on-the-ground organisations using data collection
and dissemination systems," said Gregory Rebattu, Niger Representative for
TSF. Rebattu continued, "We see a real potential for FrontlineForms to
collect important health indicators and monitor cases in remote areas."

FrontlineForms is an important enhancement to FrontlineSMS - 
kiwanja.net's free, multi-use text messaging platform which has helped NGOs 
in more than forty countries use text messaging to deliver a range of 
humanitarian and development initiatives. Masabi - an influential developer 
of secure mobile applications - built FrontlineSMS and FrontlineForms. 
Students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology validated the new SMS 
tool's architecture with the needs of isolated communities in mind. By 
integrating a data collection tool into FrontlineSMS kiwanja.net is further 
opening up the potential of mobile technology to transform a global 
development agenda which today includes healthcare, the environment, food 
security, poverty reduction and election monitoring. As this agenda evolves, 
the launch of FrontlineForms means NGOs have a powerful, new mobile 
technology tool to use - not solely to deliver their initiatives, but to 
decide how to advance these initiatives in line with the unique needs of the 
rural communities they serve.

"Technologies that advance social change in the developing world will 
continue to centre on mobile applications and rural community realities," 
said Ken Banks, kiwanja.net Founder. Banks explained, "In this sense the 
potential for FrontlineForms will be fully realised once it gets into the 
hands of individuals who can and will use the tool to revolutionise ways 
NGO's advance rural development initiatives."

About kiwanja.net

Since 2003, kiwanja.net has been committed to helping non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) use information and communications technology (ICT) in
their work. Specialising in the application and advancement of mobile
technologies in particular, kiwanja.net provides a wide range of ICT-related
services, drawing upon over 22 years of experience of its Founder, Ken Banks.
For further details on kiwanja.net or on Ken Banks visit
http://www.kiwanja.net.

About FrontlineSMS

- FrontlineSMS is free software that turns a laptop and a mobile phone
into a central communications hub.

- Once installed, the program enables users to send and receive text 
messages with individuals or with large groups of people through mobile 
phones.

- The FrontlineSMS application has an intuitive user interface which is 
designed so that users with little or no experience with computers are able 
to use the application with minimal training.

- The software which can be used anywhere around the world, does
not require an Internet connection and works on all GSM networks and an
increasing range of phones. Originally developed in 2005, the latest version
from FrontlineSMS

- which was made possible by a grant from The MacArthur Foundation

- was released in June, 2008. For further details on FrontlineSMS
or to download the software visit http://www.frontlinesms.com.

About FrontlineForms

- FrontlineForms is a free SMS tool that works on many Java-enabled
mobile handsets, creating an accessible adoption proposition for development
initiatives in rural areas where the range - old to new - of mobile
technology devices varies widely.

- The FrontlineForms client can be loaded onto mobile phones which 
support Java, covering the majority of handsets made
in the last 5 years.

- Technical or IT expertise is not required to implement
FrontlineForms

- the tool's data collection and aggregation capabilities and
the hosting of the central database are handled by FrontlineSMS.

- FrontlineForms is a highly cost-effective alternative to the expense 
of commissioning wireless computer terminals or Personal Digital Assistants
(PDAs)

- an expense that is out of reach of many NGO's, grassroots
organisations and community groups.

To use the FrontlineForms tool, firstly download FrontlineSMS at 
http://www.frontlinesms.com. For further details on FrontlineForms visit 
http://www.frontlinesms.com/forms.

About Masabi

Masabi is a secure mobile applications developer based in the UK. Its
EncryptME security system has been validated by BT and certified by NIST, the
US Government's security standards body. In line with the latest web security
standards EncryptME provides end-to-end security for all mobile
communications by SMS, GPRS, NFC and local data storage on most Java-enabled
handsets. The company's expertise in secure, usable mobile applications which
run on even the lowest specification phone handsets is currently being used
in a range of mobile commerce, ticketing, casino and financial applications.
Masabi has also designed the mobile barcode standard which was adopted by the
UK rail operating companies (ATOC) in December 2008. Masabi which is owned by
its directors, won the IET Security Award in 2007, was a runner up in the
"True Mobile Start-Up" category at the Mobile Innovation Global Awards in
2008 and was selected as a finalist for the Red Herring 100 Europe. For
further details on Masabi visit http://www.masabi.com or contact Nick Dillon
at nick.dillon@temono.com.

About Grameen Foundation

Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines
microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world's poorest
people to escape poverty. Its global microfinance network and technology
initiatives reach an estimated 45 million people in 28 countries across Asia,
Africa, the Americas, and, through Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance,
Ltd., in the Arab World. Based in Washington, D.C., Grameen Foundation was
founded in 1997 by Alex Counts, who began his work in microfinance with 2006
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank.
Dr. Yunus is a founding and current member of Grameen Foundation's board of
directors. For more information on Grameen Foundation, please visit
http://www.grameenfoundation.org

About Telecoms Sans Frontieres

Telecoms Sans Frontieres was created in 1998 and is now the leading NGO
specialised in emergency telecommunications. With bases in France, Thailand
and Nicaragua, TSF is ready to respond to emergencies worldwide within 48
hours. Since its creation, TSF has intervened in over 50 countries, serving
millions of victims and over 500 NGOs and UN agencies. A partner of UNICEF
and OCHA within the UN Emergency Telecoms Cluster, TSF is a designated "First
Emergency Telecoms Responder." An independent non-governmental organisation,
TSF is supported by some of the biggest telecommunications companies and
foundations, and maintains a partnership agreement with the European
Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO). For further details on Telecoms 
Sans Frontieres visit http://www.tsfi.org. To read Gregory Rebattu's guest
blog post about FrontlineSMS and FrontlineForms visit
http://www.kiwanja.net/blog/2009/02/tsf-frontlinesms-and-humanitarian-assista
nce-inniger/.

Recent comments about FrontlineSMS

"One of the largest and most ambitious mHealth programs in the world..."

Vital Wave Consulting for the UN Foundation-Vodafone Foundation 
Partnership, 17 February, 2009

mHealth for Development: The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for 
Healthcare in the Developing World

"...intentionally flexible software program..."

Steve Mollman for CNN Technology, 2 January, 2009

Text service provides more than a Band-Aid for rural health service

"...think about it. This platform has to work on hundreds of different 
handsets and modems... in languages ranging from Swahili to Cantonese... it 
needs to work with Windows, Mac and Linux. Not child's play...."

Clark Boyd, 25 June 2008

Etherized: views from the wired and wireless worlds

Contacts: Ken Banks, kiwanja.net 
    frontlinesmspress@kiwanja.net
    
    Nick Dillon, Temono for Masabi 
    nick.dillon@temono.com