Eight Village Pilot – Busibi (Fort Portal)
Eight, a Belgian NGO, provided two years of unconditional monthly cash transfers via mobile money to every resident of Busibi village near Fort Portal, Uganda, from January 2017 to January 2019. Adults received $18.25/month and children received $9.13/month, with children's payments routed to mothers or female guardians. The pilot tracked education, healthcare, democratic participation, and local economic development, and was documented in the web series/documentary "Village One" (later "Crazy Money"). It was studied by University of Ghent and later University of Antwerp (IOB) researchers, including a long-term sustainability follow-up.
Unconditional, Whole-village pilot, Rural Uganda, Mobile money, Documentary (Village One / Crazy Money), Academic evaluation
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Eight vzw (Eight World)
- City
- Sint-Niklaas
- State / Province
- East Flanders
- Country
- Belgium
Contact
- Website
- https://www.eight.world
- info@eight.world
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Number of recipients
- 144
- Funding type
- Nonprofit, Philanthropic, Corporate, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 438 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 18.25 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Mobile Money
- Benefit details
Adults received $18.25/month (~€16) and children received $9.13/month (~€8), paid monthly via mobile phone (mobile money) for 24 months (Jan 14, 2017 – Jan 14, 2019). Money for children was transferred to the mother or female guardian. Total received per adult over the full pilot was approximately $438; per child approximately $219.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
All residents of Busibi village (near Fort Portal, western Uganda) were automatically enrolled – 56 adults and 88 children across roughly 50 households. There was no individual application; the entire village population was targeted as a universal, village-wide unconditional basic income pilot.
Geography
- Countries covered
- Uganda
- Cities covered
- Busibi (village, Fort Portal region)
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Participants were part of an academic research design tracking outcomes in education (especially girls'), healthcare access, democratic/governance participation, and local economic development. Baseline/impact research was conducted with Ghent University and later long-term sustainability follow-up research by the University of Antwerp's Institute of Development Policy (IOB), including household surveys and policy briefs on the 'Busibi case.'
Application Process
- How to apply
No application process. All residents of Busibi village were automatically enrolled when the pilot launched in January 2017; there was no opt-in application procedure for individuals.
- Selection process
Eight selected the village of Busibi (Fort Portal region, western Uganda) for the pilot; within the selected village, every resident (all 56 adults and 88 children) received the unconditional cash transfer – there was no individual-level selection or screening.
