New Incentives careers

The product of New Incentives is conditional cash transfers (CCTs). We give cash to poor pregnant mothers in Nigeria who are HIV-positive using electronic code-based payments after verifying that they satisfied a predefined health goal, which we verify using health records. Our system does not rely on mobile phones, which we learned is essential for successfully reaching our target population during pilots we completed. Moreover, we use voice recognition technology to verify identities in an accountable manner that does not rely on government identification, which a majority of our beneficiaries do not have.

Giving cash directly to people in need creates efficiency by avoiding intermediaries. Giving cash based on goals creates accountability. By giving people who earn less than $1/day cash incentives, we encourage choices that help their family move out of poverty quickly and effectively.