Eight / IPIS Unconditional Cash Transfer Pilot – Kalima, Maniema (DRC)
Eight, a Belgian NGO, ran unconditional monthly cash transfers to entire villages in an artisanal tin-mining zone of Kalima/Pangi territory, Maniema Province, DRC, in partnership with research institute IPIS and funders including the Belgian Development Cooperation, Fairphone, Proximus and Umicore. Adults received $20/month and children under 18 received $10/month (paid to the mother/female guardian) via individual mobile money accounts, for 2 years per village, with no conditions on spending. The pilot began in the village of Lutala in October 2021 and subsequently scaled to two more villages in the same region, Balendelende and Masimelo (launched December 2023), each running a 2-year cycle. IPIS conducted baseline, midline and further studies comparing recipient villages to a control village to assess effects on poverty, child labor, health, education, entrepreneurship and collective action. As of mid-2026 all three Kalima/Maniema villages (Lutala, Balendelende, Masimelo) have completed their 2-year transfer cycles; Eight has since started a separate, unrelated village project (Kyunga) near Lubumbashi in a different province.
Mobile Money, Artisanal Mining, Unconditional Cash Transfer, Village Pilot, Maniema, DRC, Tin Mining, Multi-village Rollout
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Eight (Eight vzw)
- City
- Sint-Niklaas
- State / Province
- East Flanders
- Country
- Belgium
Contact
- info@eight.world
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Number of recipients
- 1,357
- Funding type
- Government, Nonprofit, Corporate, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 480 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 20 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Mobile Money (individual mobile bank/money account, disbursed via basic cell phone)
- Benefit details
All residents of a selected village receive a fixed monthly cash amount deposited directly into an individual mobile money account. Adults receive USD 20/month; residents under 18 receive USD 10/month, paid to their mother or another female guardian rather than directly to the minor. Transfers run for 24 months per village with no strings attached — recipients decide freely how to spend, save, or invest. A local service provider visits monthly to register newly-turned-18 residents and resolve phone/PIN issues.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Universal (unconditional) enrollment of essentially all residents registered in a baseline census of the selected village at program launch — no means test, application, or individual selection criteria beyond village residency. Villages themselves were purposively selected by Eight and IPIS for having active artisanal (cassiterite/tin) mining activity mixed with farming/commerce, being in a relatively conflict-free part of Maniema Province, and having a population size matching the pilot budget.
Geography
- Countries covered
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Cities covered
- Lutala, Balendelende, Masimelo (villages in the Kalima area, Pangi territory)
- Counties covered
- Pangi Territory, Maniema Province
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Research / participation requirements
IPIS conducted baseline (2021), midline (~1 year post-launch), and further household surveys in each recipient village and a matched control village, assessing socio-economic and subjective well-being, child labor, education, health, entrepreneurship, and collective action. Cash transfers themselves were unconditional and not contingent on participating in surveys, but research/monitoring was a core, funded pillar of the overall project design.
Application Process
- How to apply
No individual application process. All residents of a selected village were registered as recipients through a baseline household census conducted by Eight/IPIS at program launch in that village; enrollment was automatic and universal for census-registered residents, not application-based.
- Selection process
Villages (not individuals) were selected by Eight in partnership with IPIS using criteria including presence of active artisanal cassiterite (tin) mining, a mix of livelihoods (mining plus farming/commerce), being in a relatively conflict-free zone of Maniema province, and a population size fitting the pilot budget. A demographically comparable nearby 'control' village was also selected for research comparison but did not receive payments. Within a chosen recipient village, all census-registered residents received transfers.
