PDX: Designing a Marketplace to Accelerate Development

Sami Ahmad, Hassaan Shah, Pakistan Development Exchange:

Philanthropists Hassaan and Sami always wondered about the leakages in donation systems and the lack of transparency. They piloted an alternative charity match system through a social exchange bank, based on crowd funding, hyper-connectivity and community development. Attempting to shift the paradigm, Hassaan and Sami are proving to the world that it is possible to move a community out of the vicious cycle of poverty, one family at a time.

Azhar Rizvi’s Comments:

This story is about two young men, Sami Ahmad and Hassaan Shah, whom I consider my brothers and friends. Their idea is still a work in progress but it has all the makings of a major game changer for philanthropy. From the outset, I could see the potential of this model, which, if properly executed, would create new avenues to eradicate poverty and contribute to the economic development of the country. I helped them design it for global implementation, guided them to come up with their business vision and a strategy for implementation across country. I am still mentoring them on the execution and planning.

PDX serving Communities

Hassaan Shah and Sami Ahmad have been part of the Pakistani diaspora and actively working for about a decadeon ways to give back to Pakistan. Deeply influenced by Muhammad Yunus’ book ‘Creating a World Without Poverty’, Sami Ahmad and his partner Hassaan Shah are now working on developing the first “Development  Exchange” model in Pakistan. The model is based on a        hyper-connected model of philanthropy and a crowd funding platform that focuses on developing one community at a time.

What makes this social venture different from others is that while other social entrepreneurs choose to solve one issue such as sanitation, illiteracy or low-quality healthcare, PDX adopts a multifaceted approach, under the term “crowd slumming”. It works with social sector partners to develop a holistic solution for impoverished communities.

PDX’s model entails linking Pakistani donors via mobile app to targeted communities through the mechanism of community resource centers–which operate robust poverty reduction program funded by the donors. Donors can conveniently and transparently engage and manage their giving in their adopted slums. In this manner, the poorest communities and households in Pakistan can gain access to basic services and an opportunity to quickly climb the ladder out of poverty. 

This model has been running successfully in one locality in Lahore for the past year and the team is actively in the process of launch and scale up in the major cities of Pakistan. 

Read how PDX is looking towards changing models of giving for donations to reach those that need it most.