Simprints

The Situation

Simprints is a nonprofit tech company committed to transforming the way the world fights poverty. The company builds technology to radically increase transparency and effectiveness in global development, so that every vaccine, every dollar, and every public good reaches the people who need them most. By using biometrics such as fingerprints to accurately link people to their records, Simprints brings digital ID to the last mile, enabling NGOs, businesses, and governments to reach the most marginalized populations. The ability to know who has received services and who has been missed is essential to tracking global progress toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The Roadblock

In 2018, and in partnership with a donor maternal health program, Simprints won a $2 million grant to scale up a low-cost, mobile biometrics system developed for 2.1 million expectant mothers and newborns across Bangladesh. However, the Trump Administration’s Mexico City Policy prevented the donor from funding maternal health services that offer information about abortion. As a consequence, the project’s financing was moved to another donor. Due to internal funding issues, the new donor implemented a 6 percent cut to all its grants, leaving Simprints with a $120,000 shortfall and imperiling the project outcomes and impact.

Open Road's Response

With a one-time $120,000 charitable grant from ORA, Simprints will cover this budget shortfall and protect the project’s ability to deliver biometrically verified maternal and child health services, which will increase healthcare coverage, prevent fraud, and stop thousands of preventable neonatal deaths.

To learn more visit: simprints.com