I started my Mahiti journey in 2010 where I worked to create an easy-to-use application for the development sector to manage donors, and more importantly, to keep in touch with them. The key to any organisation building a large support base, is its database! A lot of organisations manage their donors without realising that they are essentially creating their own database - a folder of cards, a phone book and the favourite... the excel sheet! But the increasing need for organisations to raise local resources now demands that organisations start assessing the use of technology and tools available to make this task easier.

Bridging this gap between technology and communications was challenging in the beginning, as the social sector was reluctant when it came to technology and it’s relevance in their work. However, in today’s day and age, using technology is a must for an effective communications strategy. Communications driven by technology leads to better visibility, larger reach and effective resource mobilisation.

I personally feel that the decision to enter the world of social media is not very different from wanting to buy a new mobile phone - you weigh added advantages, its promise for convenience and test out all the applications it hosts. And, very quickly we learn to use our new mobile phone and can’t imagine how we used to have a phone without it! The internet and social media isn’t very different from your new mobile phone - don’t let its scale scare you! We all are essentially curious about the new things around us - just don’t squash that bug!

Sooner or later, everything will move to the virtual world, from booking tickets to applying for financial grants, everything will be done on the internet. Instead of doing it five years, later why not start it now. As we are all aware, it’s never too late for learning new things!”

                                                                         --Aysha Sreekanth, Head, Business Development