This is AidHedge!

Expensive currency transactions and high financial risk makes funding of sustainable development and foreign aid less effective. We are changing that now! Our financial algorithms makes sure that development organisations get more funding all the way through to the intended targets. That means more clean water, more healthcare and more schools, as well as more green projects, gender equality and more humanitarian aid. And while at it, we take a hard stab at all that ineffective administration and reporting.

If large rivers like the Amazon or the Colorado see a reduction in the flow, people notice it and react. The losses to international aid flows due to bad rates and high risks have to date largely passed unnoticed, since there has been a lack of knowledge and methods in aid organizations to handle them. AidHedge is changing this now.

To fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals is a daunting but necessary task. It is a global effort, with large international flows of funding working towards these common goals. At AidHedge we contribute by making sure that donors, impact investors and development organisations get more and better funding.

Development assistance amounts to hundreds of billions of dollar every year globally. At present, tens of billions lost through inefficient financial transactions every year. Development organisations of all sizes are paying too much to send their funds abroad. And highly volatile exchange rates makes funding unpredictable. The total costs to global foreign aid flows is in the tens of billions, every year.

These financial costs and risks also limit investments in social impact and green projects in developing countries. With a funding gap of trillions of dollars, we need efficient financial management to get the funding where it needs to be.

We make sure transactions are made to the best possible rates. At present many development organisations pay way more than they should when buying currency. They tend to accept the rates they are offered by their bank, most of the time without even negotiating.

This means that hundreds of millions of dollars never reach the intended recipients.

In our experience, it is usually possible to improve the rates — a lot.

Exchange rates fluctuate constantly. Even between larger, global currencies the volatility is 10 percent per year or more. And currencies in developing countries are a lot more uncertain. The result is that funding is unpredictable — lowering efficiency in an unacceptable way. Its just not possible to plan for an effective project! We identify and mitigate financial risks in development transactions. Our goal? 100 % predictable funding.

If a donor or investor commits USD 100.000 to a project a year from now, that project should be able to start planning early and know they will receive the exact amount they expect!

As part of the package, our services also provide instant, accurate budgeting and financial reporting. This, and other new technology in the pipeline can greatly reduce administrative costs for all aid organisations.

There are several ways you can get involved in this project.

• If you are in the development sector, try our services — just send an email to Númi to get an account. If you have time for a Skype or phone call, we are happy to walk you through the features.
• Are you interested in data and data visualization? We are too! A lot can be done with open data sources such as IATI and others. Ivo is the person to get in touch with for anything relating to data analysis.
• If you want more information about AidHedge, or discuss a potential partnership, contact Robert Kautsky.

We will post on Medium when we have something new to share about AidHedge work. For short and daily information on our progress, check our twitter, @aidhedge.

Let’s put and end to the waste of aid funds now.