Problem Statement

Globally, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty has decreased from 36% in
1990 to 10% in 2015. However, development is slowing, and the COVID-19 issue threatens to
reverse decades of progress in the battle against poverty. More than 700 million people, or 10%
of the global population, lived in extreme poverty in 2015, unable to meet even the most basic
necessities such as health, education, and access to water and sanitation, to mention a few. The
COVID-19 epidemic, on the other hand, is reversing the trend of poverty reduction, with tens of
millions of people at risk of being driven back into severe poverty (those living on less than RM
8.05 per day), resulting in the first increase in global poverty in over 20 years. 



The UN has issued a Framework for the Immediate Socio-economic Response to COVID-19 to assist the poorest and most vulnerable, calling for an unprecedented scale-up of international support
and political commitment to ensure that people everywhere have access to essential services and social protection. The UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund intends to help low- and middle-income nations, as well as disadvantaged people, who are facing a disproportionate amount of the pandemic's socio-economic effects. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed hosted a meeting of women
leaders to appeal for support for the UN roadmap for social and economic recovery, as well as full financing of the UN Response and Recovery Fund. 


Problems with the existing system

We decided to make improvements to the existing app called “ShareTheMeal”. The app has a number of issues, which is unpleasant because this app is the most recommended app for a donating app. As stated are some of the flaws with the app:


Problem 1: Visibility


This is the first thing that users will see once they want to start donating, and seeing the price of RM105 first is a bit ghastly for first timers who just found out about the app and must be wanting to donate a small amount first to see whether or not their money that they donated reached to the peoples intended. Nevertheless, the amount can be edited but it may take some time to notice that it can be edited manually by clicking the edit icon on the right side of the amount, which can be 9hardly seen. While on the subject, the curved line under the bowl of foods happens to be a slider which is the same purpose as customizing the amount using the edit icon. The problem is first time users could not identify that it’s a slider. It can just be an animation following how much the amount gets to.







Problem 2: Safety


There is no other payment method than credit or debit card but not everyone gives their trust to some apps for them to put their credit or debit card information as this may lead to data spread.









Problem 3: Efficiency

It is not directly obvious how the donations are being used and to get to this menu which talks about it, you must reach the final step of the payment. Such information should be provided before donating as it involves real money.












Problem 4: Learnability

There is no quick tutorial of how to use the app and some menus can have submenus which gets confusing for first time users. Every app should have a simple tutorial.












Problem 5: Utility

There is no search function for the users to help decide where they want to donate. Users have to scroll to every possible donation available. The tags are not interactive either.















Proposed Solution

After identifying a few problems from the “ShareTheMeal” application, our team has come up with some improvements and additions to the existing app. Our proposed solution is called FundBites, where it is used by people who would like to donate basic necessities right at their fingertips and help volunteers fight poverty. The following are the solutions that we came up with to solve the problems stated above.


1. Improve visibility

The pencil logo will be bigger and add an underline below the price. This will make it more obvious that it can be interacted with. The amount-to-donate slider under the illustration will have a “drag me” pop up to make users notice that the slider is adjustable.


2. Increase safety

Add 2 factor authentication before confirming a purchase, and include more secure payment options, such as PayPal and eWallets. This will allow users to ease their donation process as they feel more secure when using a payment option that they are already familiar and comfortable with.


3. Improve efficiency

The information about how the donation is used will be accessible from the home menu at the top right corner. This will reduce extra steps taken. Donation transparency should also be the focus of the app, and not something to be hidden.


4. Improve Learnability for first-time users

Add an option to take a tour of the application when the user first uses the app. This option will be placed under the settings menu.


5. Improve Utility

Add a search feature such as searching by category. This can utilise categories that are already implemented in the app.



We also came up with additional features, such as a volunteering section and a new category section as stated:


1. Volunteering section

The volunteer section will have an option to allow applications for volunteers in any supported non-government organisations. This additional feature will help get more volunteers involved to help people in poverty.


2. Add new category section

Food donation can help people in poverty, but that is not the only way. They also need other basic necessities, such as clean water, clothes, healthcare, shelter and education. We suggest adding more variety to help those in need.


Target Users

1. Companies (Marketing Team)

Companies can build their profiles and create their challenges to raise donations not for their companies but for the poor or the oppressed. This will not only gain trust from other users to donate but will also boost that company’s image. This proposed app will act as a powerful marketing tool.


2. Non-profit organizations

Other than their own website as medium for fund collections, they may opt for our proposed app where there might be a much bigger audience with the main purpose of donating. It can be a great platform for them to attract donors and patrons.

3. Students

Most students cannot afford to donate huge amounts, so with the option to alter their donation amount that the app provided, they can start to nurture their empathy by sharing with the unfortunates.