Cashify joins hands with Amazon India for Delivering Smiles initiative

True to its philosophy of democratizing technology, Cashify, India’s leading recommerce marketplace to sell and buy old electronic gadgets, has partnered with Amazon India for the company’s ‘Delivering Smiles’ initiative - a one-of-a-kind online giving movement to bridge the prevailing digital divide in the country. The program will digitally empower the students from marginalised communities that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. It will open up a multitude of opportunities for them to learn, explore and grow for a brighter future. Through this partnership, Amazon India and Cashify employees , sellers and customers will be able to donate their old mobile phones online on the Cashify portal in a seamless and easy way. Cashify will organize the free home pick-ups of old mobiles then clean and refurbish the smartphones and provide the devices to the partner NGO, Goonj, India’s leading nonprofit organization which then will give them to kids who can use them for their online classes. 

As India gears up for the upcoming festive season, Amazon India is simplifying the process of contributing  by leveraging the power of technology by collaborating with Cashify. Both the companies aim to provide xxxx digital devices to underprivileged young people.

Cashify is always on the forefront to give back to communities, as millions of businesses and livelihoods have been severely impacted by the pandemic. In  April- May last year, the company tied up with NGOs to help them procure smartphones that could be sent to kids for studies, this was the starting of the campaign “Donate for Education”. Through this activity, Cashify attempted to help the students who did not have access to technology by giving free refurbished smartphones, the fundamental assistance for studies in the post-Covid era. This campaign was primarily Delhi- NCR focussed,  the company also announced Mission Digital Shiksha and extended it to other parts of the country.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to focus the stark digital divide, not only in the field of education but also in access to essential services. Amongst the most adversely affected are young people from marginalized communities. Together with our customers, employees and partners, we aim to bridge the gap by enabling young people with digital devices for continued access to online education and essential services for their families. This is also our way to bring more smiles and add to the festive cheer of Amazon’s Great Indian Festival across the length and breadth of the country,” said Manish Tiwary, Vice President, Amazon India. “Amazon is committed to investing in the future of our country. We are aware that while talent and passion is spread across all young people, opportunity is not. This also led us to recently launch our global signature computer science education initiative, Amazon Future Engineer, in India that aims to enable access to quality computer science education and career opportunities for underprivileged students,” Manish added.   

Talking about the partnership, Mandeep Manocha, Co-founder & CEO, Cashify, said, “As the country went into a lockdown for months, the need to have a smartphone with internet connectivity and supportability of apps became a necessity. Be it for keeping up with jobs or education, digital became the new normal which has further widened the digital divide between have and have nots. Through this partnership, our aim is to help those who are left behind in the rush to go digital. We'd love it if we can make an unused phone useful for a student in need and bring our country forward. This is not our first attempt in the e-learning space, in the past we rolled out a Donate For Education campaign in collaboration with various NGOs across the country to narrow the digital gap of the country.”

Amazon will directly provide 20,000 digital devices to underprivileged young people, in partnership with over 150 large and small non-profit organizations, impacting over 100,000 students across India. Of these 150 organizations, 100 non-profit partners will be selected based on internal employee nominations as part of Amazon’s volunteering program. Additionally, customers are encouraged to either contribute in cash or give their old mobile phones that will be refurbished and distributed to provide digital learning devices for young people.