TotoSave

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), only 67% of children in Uganda attend primary school with less than 50 % of these being female students. This percentage of children attending school reduces further as the level of education rises.  Additionally, about 30% of children under the age of five in Uganda suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition.

Globally, the children's education and health problem is also significant. According to the World Bank, an estimated 263 million children and youth worldwide are out of school, and many children who attend school do not receive a quality education. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that every year, approximately 5.9 million children under the age of five die from preventable or treatable causes such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria.

These problems disproportionately affect low-income families, who often lack access to quality healthcare and education. Addressing these issues requires a multifaceted approach that includes improving healthcare infrastructure, increasing access to education, and addressing poverty and income inequality.

Our solution provides low-income earners with a means to easily save for their children’s education and health needs whilst benefiting from interest earned, insurance covers provided and economies of scale enjoyed through bulk procurement of children health and education necessities on the platform.

TotoSave is a digital platform that aims to help low-income parents save for their children's education and health needs. This platform is designed to make saving easy and accessible to parents who otherwise might not have the means or opportunity to do so. The platform is based in Uganda and uses mobile and web-based technology to make saving simple, secure, and convenient.

TotoSave allows parents to create accounts for their children and make small daily contributions towards their children's education and healthcare needs. Parents can save as little as UGX.2000 per day, and their contributions can accumulate over time to cover the cost of school fees, books, uniforms, healthcare services, and other expenses. This enables parents to spread the cost of education and healthcare over time, rather than having to come up with large sums of money all at once.

The platform also offers insurance to parents, which helps to protect their families against unexpected medical expenses. In addition, TotoSave partners with schools and healthcare providers to offer quality services at discounted rates to parents who use the platform. This makes it easier for parents to access high-quality education and healthcare services for their children at a more affordable price.

TotoSave is designed to be simple and user-friendly. Parents can access the platform via their mobile phones or computers and make payments using mobile money or other electronic payment options. The platform also provides parents with regular updates on their savings progress, helping to keep them motivated and on track.

One of the key benefits of TotoSave is that it can help to promote financial inclusion in low-income communities. By providing parents with a convenient and accessible way to save, TotoSave can help to build financial resilience among low-income families, enabling them to better manage unexpected expenses and plan for the future. The platform also promotes financial literacy and education, helping parents to understand the importance of saving and how to manage their finances effectively.

Overall, TotoSave is an innovative solution that has the potential to transform the lives of low-income families in Uganda and beyond. By making saving easy, accessible, and affordable, TotoSave can help to improve the prospects of children in low-income households, enabling them to access quality education and healthcare services that would otherwise be out of reach. With the continued development of mobile and web-based technologies, TotoSave is well-positioned to make a meaningful impact on the lives of millions of families in Uganda and beyond.

The target population for TotoSave is low-income families with children who are currently underserved in terms of access to quality education and healthcare services.

In Uganda, many low-income families struggle to pay for their children's education and healthcare. The cost of tuition, books, uniforms, and other expenses can be prohibitively expensive, and many families cannot afford to pay for these costs out of pocket. As a result, children from low-income households are often underserved when it comes to education, with lower enrollment rates and higher dropout rates than their peers from more affluent backgrounds. Similarly, many low-income families struggle to access quality healthcare services, with limited access to insurance, high out-of-pocket costs, and limited availability of quality services in their communities.

TotoSave addresses the needs of low-income families in several ways. Firstly, it provides a simple and convenient way for parents to save for their children's education and healthcare needs, helping them to spread the cost of these expenses over time. This can help to reduce the financial burden of education and healthcare expenses, making it easier for parents to afford these essential services.

In addition, TotoSave offers insurance to parents, which helps to protect their families against unexpected medical expenses. This provides a safety net for families who might otherwise struggle to cover the cost of unexpected medical bills, ensuring that they can access the care they need when they need it.

Finally, TotoSave partners with schools and healthcare providers to offer quality services at discounted rates to parents who use the platform. This helps make education and healthcare more affordable for low-income families, ensuring they can access the same quality of services as their more affluent peers.

Overall, the target population for TotoSave is low-income families with children who are currently underserved in terms of access to quality education and healthcare services. TotoSave addresses their needs by providing a simple and convenient way to save for these expenses, offering insurance to protect against unexpected medical bills, and partnering with schools and healthcare providers to provide quality services at affordable prices. By doing so, TotoSave aims to improve the lives of millions of families in Uganda and beyond, helping to promote financial inclusion and access to essential services for all.

Our current team of 4 ladies is highly positioned to deliver this solution through our various experiences as women in Uganda and friends and acquaintances of the families that face this issue daily. 

As children, we all came face to face with the possibility of not completing our studies due to the challenges described in the problem explained above, we also have peers that were victims of these challenges

In addition, we have engaged and intend to further engage the community through various means such as surveys, focus groups, community meetings, and interviews. This allowed and will continue to allow us to understand the community's needs, concerns, and priorities, which can inform the design and implementation of the solution.

Currently, we have a working prototype of the app we are building. This was designed through consultation with stakeholders such as parents, school owners and health facility owners.

None yet

Applying and getting selected by Solve will give us the necessary networks and finances to bring this solution to better fruition.

Our current stage requires guidance on the best ways to launch into the market and provide the best service and product to the intended population.

TotoSave's approach to addressing the problem of low-income earners' inability to save for their children's education and health needs is novel and innovative in several ways.

First, TotoSave uses a digital platform to make saving more accessible and convenient for low-income earners. The platform allows parents to create accounts for their children and save as little as UGX 2000 daily, which is affordable for many low-income families. This is a significant improvement over traditional savings methods, which may require a minimum deposit or have high fees that make them unaffordable for low-income earners.

Second, TotoSave offers insurance and bulk purchases for health and education needs, which can help parents save money and access quality services. By pooling the resources of many families, TotoSave can negotiate better prices and provide more affordable options for its users. This approach is likely to catalyze broader positive impacts by creating more competition and encouraging other providers to offer similar services at more affordable prices.

Third, TotoSave partners with schools and health providers to benefit from the pool of children and parents on the platform while providing quality services. This partnership can help schools and health providers reach more low-income families and ensure that children receive quality education and healthcare services. By bringing together multiple stakeholders, TotoSave can create a more comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing the needs of low-income families.

If successful, TotoSave's approach could change the market by creating a new model for how to deliver financial services and healthcare to low-income populations. By demonstrating that it is possible to provide affordable, high-quality services to low-income families, TotoSave could encourage other providers to adopt similar models and make their services more accessible to underserved populations. This could help to create a more inclusive and equitable financial and healthcare system, where everyone has access to the services they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives

Next year:

1. To onboard at least 10,000 users onto the platform, with a focus on low-income families in rural areas.
2. To achieve a savings rate of at least UGX 500,000 per month across all accounts on the platform.
3. To partner with at least 20 schools and health providers to offer discounted services to TotoSave users.
4. To conduct regular user surveys and feedback sessions to ensure that the platform is meeting the needs of its users.

Next five years:

1. To onboard at least 100,000 users onto the platform, with a focus on expanding into urban areas and reaching more low-income families.
2. To achieve a savings rate of at least UGX 5 million per month across all accounts on the platform.
3. To partner with at least 100 schools and health providers to offer discounted services to TotoSave users.
4. To expand the platform's offerings to include other financial products such as loans, insurance, and investments.
5. To establish TotoSave as a recognized and respected brand in the financial services sector in Uganda.

To achieve these goals, TotoSave will take several steps, including:

1. Conducting targeted marketing campaigns to reach low-income families in rural and urban areas.
2. Strengthening partnerships with schools and health providers to ensure that users have access to quality services.
3. Offering incentives such as discounts and bonuses to encourage users to save more and use the platform regularly.
4. Regularly collecting feedback from users to ensure that the platform is meeting their needs and making necessary adjustments based on their feedback.
5. Investing in technology and infrastructure to support the platform's growth and expansion.

By achieving these impact goals, TotoSave will be able to demonstrate the viability of its model and make a significant impact on the lives of low-income families in Uganda.

TotoSave will measure its progress toward its impact goals using both qualitative and quantitative measures. Here are some examples:

1. User acquisition: We will track the number of new users who sign up for TotoSave and the rate at which they are joining the platform. This will be a quantitative measure of our progress toward our goal of onboarding 10,000 users in the first year and 100,000 users in the next five years.

2. Savings rate: We will monitor the average savings rate per user and the total amount of savings across all accounts on the platform. This will help us understand whether users are saving enough to meet their needs and whether we are making progress toward our goal of achieving a savings rate of at least UGX 500,000 per month in the first year and UGX 5 million per month in the next five years.

3. User engagement: We will track the frequency and depth of user engagement on the platform, including how often users log in, how long they stay on the platform, and the types of activities they are engaging in (e.g. saving, purchasing insurance, etc.). This will help us understand whether users are finding the platform useful and whether we are making progress toward our goal of encouraging regular use.

4. Partnerships: We will monitor the number and quality of partnerships we have established with schools and health providers, including the number of users who are taking advantage of discounted services. This will help us understand whether we are making progress toward our goal of partnering with at least 20 schools and health providers in the first year and 100 schools and health providers in the next five years.

5. User feedback: We will regularly solicit feedback from users through surveys, feedback sessions, and other channels. This will help us understand how we can improve the platform to better meet the needs of our users and whether we are making progress toward our goal of creating a platform that is responsive to user needs and priorities.

By tracking these and other measures of our progress, we will be able to assess our impact and adjust our approach as needed to achieve our goals.

Our theory of change is based on the following assumptions:

1. Low-income parents in Uganda are highly motivated to save for their children's education and health, but face numerous barriers to doing so, including lack of access to formal financial services, low financial literacy, and unpredictable income streams.

2. By providing an easy-to-use digital platform that allows parents to save as little as UGX. 2000 per day, TotoSave can help overcome these barriers and enable parents to save for their children's education and health.

3. By partnering with schools and health providers, TotoSave can also help parents access high-quality services at discounted prices, reducing the financial burden of these expenses.

4. By providing insurance and bulk purchases for parents on the platform, TotoSave can further reduce the financial risks associated with unexpected health and education expenses.

5. By encouraging regular use of the platform and providing ongoing support and education on financial management, TotoSave can help parents develop a habit of saving and build their financial resilience over time.

Overall, our theory of change is that by providing a user-friendly, accessible platform that addresses the specific needs and challenges of low-income parents in Uganda, TotoSave can help parents save for their children's education and health and build their financial resilience over time, improving the well-being of their families and communities. Through our partnerships with schools and health providers, we can also catalyze broader positive impacts in these sectors, promoting access to high-quality education and health services for all children.

TotoSave is a digital platform that is powered by several core technologies.

Firstly, the platform is built using web and mobile technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and it is accessible through a web browser or a mobile application. This enables users to access the platform from any device with an internet connection, making it highly accessible to low-income parents who may not have access to desktop computers.

Secondly, TotoSave leverages cloud computing technologies to store and process user data securely and efficiently. The platform uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host its servers, databases, and other infrastructure, which allows us to scale our operations rapidly and cost-effectively.

Thirdly, TotoSave incorporates payment technologies to facilitate secure, seamless transactions between users and service providers. The platform uses payment gateways such as MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money, which are widely used in Uganda, to enable users to make and receive payments quickly and easily.

Lastly, TotoSave incorporates data analytics technologies to track user behavior and usage patterns, and to generate insights that can inform product development and improve user engagement. The platform collects and analyzes data on user savings habits, service utilization, and other key metrics, which can help us identify areas for improvement and optimize the platform for maximum impact.

In summary, TotoSave is powered by a combination of web and mobile technologies, cloud computing, payment gateways, and data analytics, which together enable us to provide a highly accessible, secure, and user-friendly platform that addresses the specific needs and challenges of low-income parents in Uganda

At TotoSave, we are committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) in all aspects of our work. We believe that DEI is essential to achieving our mission of improving the lives of low-income families in Uganda and beyond.

Our approach to DEI is centered around four key principles:

1. Diversity: We recognize the value of diversity in all its forms, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, and age. We actively seek out and embrace diverse perspectives and experiences to inform our work and drive innovation.

2. Equity: We believe in creating a level playing field for all, and strive to reduce disparities in access to education and healthcare for low-income families. We are committed to addressing systemic inequalities and designing solutions that are equitable and inclusive.

3. Inclusion: We aim to create a culture of inclusivity where everyone feels welcome, valued, and respected. We prioritize listening to and engaging with diverse stakeholders, including parents, educators, healthcare providers, and community leaders, to ensure that our solutions are responsive to their needs.

4. Continuous Learning: We recognize that DEI is an ongoing process, and we are committed to continuously learning and improving. We actively seek out feedback from our stakeholders, engage in ongoing education and training, and regularly evaluate our progress toward our DEI goals.

To incorporate DEI into our work, we take several specific steps, including:

1. Engaging with diverse stakeholders: We engage with diverse stakeholders at every stage of our work, from design and development to implementation and evaluation. We prioritize engaging with low-income parents, educators, healthcare providers, and community leaders to ensure that our solutions are responsive to their needs.

2. Conducting DEI assessments: We conduct DEI assessments to evaluate the potential impact of our solutions on different populations and identify areas where we may need to adapt our approach to be more inclusive and equitable.

3. Recruiting and retaining diverse talent: We actively recruit and retain diverse talent to ensure that our team reflects the communities we serve. We prioritize creating a culture of inclusion and belonging to attract and retain a diverse workforce.

4. Providing DEI training: We provide ongoing DEI training to our team members to ensure that everyone is equipped with the knowledge and skills to promote equity and inclusion in our work.

Overall, we believe that incorporating DEI into our work is essential to achieving our mission and driving a positive impact for low-income families in Uganda and beyond.

Our business model at TotoSave is a social enterprise model, which combines a social mission with a revenue-generating business model. We aim to create sustainable solutions that can generate revenue while also making a positive impact on low-income families in Uganda and beyond.

Our primary revenue stream will come from fees charged for insurance and bulk purchases made through our platform. Parents who use our platform to save for their children's education and health needs will be able to purchase insurance and other goods and services at a discounted rate. We will charge a small fee for these purchases, which will generate revenue for our organization.

In addition, we plan to partner with schools and healthcare providers to offer their services to parents on our platform. These partners will pay a fee to access our pool of potential customers, which will also generate revenue for our organization.

We will also explore other revenue streams, such as grants and donations from foundations and other philanthropic organizations that share our mission.

Our goal is to create a sustainable business model that can generate enough revenue to support our operations while also achieving our social mission of improving access to education and healthcare for low-income families in Uganda and beyond. We believe that our social enterprise model will allow us to achieve both of these goals and create a lasting impact on the communities we serve

At TotoSave, we have a plan for becoming financially sustainable in the long-term. Our social enterprise model is designed to generate revenue while also achieving our social mission of improving access to education and healthcare for low-income families.

Our primary revenue stream will come from fees charged for insurance and bulk purchases made through our platform. Parents who use our platform to save for their children's education and health needs will be able to purchase insurance and other goods and services at a discounted rate. We will charge a small fee for these purchases, which will generate revenue for our organization.

In addition to our primary revenue stream, we plan to partner with schools and healthcare providers to offer their services to parents on our platform. These partners will pay a fee to access our pool of potential customers, which will also generate revenue for our organization.

We will also explore other revenue streams, such as grants and donations from foundations and other philanthropic organizations that share our mission.

To become financially sustainable, we will focus on growing our user base and expanding our services to more communities in Uganda and beyond. We will invest in marketing and outreach efforts to raise awareness about our platform and reach more potential customers.

We will also focus on optimizing our operations and reducing costs wherever possible to maximize our revenue and minimize our expenses. This will involve leveraging technology to automate and streamline our processes, as well as implementing best practices in financial management and reporting.

Finally, we will prioritize impact measurement and reporting to demonstrate the effectiveness of our platform and attract funding from donors and investors who share our mission. By demonstrating the positive social impact of our platform, we believe we can attract sustainable funding and become financially self-sufficient over the long-term

We currently use personal investment to build and grow the solution.