Scoop In Conversation With Abhishek Sinha, Founder Of WeBeliev, A Crowdfunding Platform Launched In New Zealand

WeBeliev supports 17 SDGs, launching sector specific campaigns every month

Q. What is WeBeliev and why did you start it?

A. WeBeliev is a Singapore-registered crowdfunding platform aimed at fundraising for all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the UN, one at a time – enabling people to donate to causes they are passionate about. I started WeBeliev with the key objective of providing immediate funds to cash-strapped NGOs across multiple countries whose funding sources have been disrupted by Covid-19. Usually, these NGOs have to wait 4-6 months to get approval for grants, government support and CSR funding – we aim to cut that time down to 4-6 weeks by providing them funds instantaneously in these tumultuous times. Countries like New Zealand and Singapore are offering various kinds of stimulus packages, but at the same time developing countries like India, Mexico, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and others are struggling to make their application stand out of thousands of others. We strive to bridge this gap.

Q. Why start in New Zealand?

A. New Zealand piqued our interest because it has been COVID free and has set an example to the world. Combined with being in the Australasia region close to our beneficiary countries, we believed they could align well with our causes as friendly neighbors. Lastly and the most important of all, New Zealand has repeatedly ranked in the top 3 most generous countries in the world for last 10 years. Our Kiwi community felt like the best place to start our campaigning for good. New Zealanders also do not look to help within themselves; they are willing to help outside – this was a crucial factor for us to start. A generous society. A conscious community of individuals who want to do good and believe in good.

Q. What is the big vision with the 17 SDGs?

A. The UN member states identified these 17 Global Goals the world has set out to achieve by 2030. Come 2020; we had the worst year in a century, and the worst start to this futuristic decade. Progress was halted. I started out with one SDG in mind – but quickly, I was like why just one? There are people out there who believe in providing clean energy, who believe in providing quality education, who want to maintain water and sanitation, and who are fighting for gender equality. I mean we could list all these causes on the same digital platform and serve them all. The more, the merrier! We become a digital fundraising partner to all the causes in the world. That is our mission.

Q. With your current campaign “WeEducate” you are working with 8 NGOs from 8 different countries. Why 8 different countries?

A. That is a good question! To begin with, our current campaign “WeEducate” is focused on fundraising for SDG 4: Quality Education, as with the pandemic outbreak remote learning remains out of reach for at least 500 million students. It started with the fact that I worked with 3 of the NGOs and when I spoke to them - it turns out they are facing the same problem. NGOs who are working with disabled children or orphans or victims of domestic violence. I realized they are all going through the same problem whilst under the same united goal of providing education. They are trying to sustain education for 100-800 students through the lockdown. What if instead of raising for one project, we raise for 8 projects? $1 for 1 country. To every NGO, we give out a sum of NZ $10,000. We say to our donors that we are raising NZ $88,000 and distributing all the NGOs’ funds equally. The goal is ambitious, but we keep the donation amount low - $8. If you like my project, then donate $8 and advocate for us. To reach the $88,000 goal, we would need 11,000 donors. This way we lessen the burden on each donor and make sure our stories are heard by all the people out there.

We at the backend club the money, donors, and the NGOs to make them match! That is the entire idea.

Q. What is WeBeliev to you?

A. WeBeliev is an ambitious project for me; if you do good and you believe in good, then good will happen. That is the core principle and philosophy of WeBeliev. It is a digital platform to do good. A platform to bring untold stories from around the world. A chance to look outside your own home, society, and look out into the world. Today, where I am, I am safe. My family and friends are safe. But others are not. A lot who are going through cash problems. WeBeliev is a reminder to people to do good and not look back. I am so glad we got the opportunity to speak with Scoop, and we have people who believe in the idea.

For more information:

Website: https://www.webeliev.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/webeliev_org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/webeliev.org

Email: abhi@webeliev.org

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