The grant will mainly go towards the cost of office space, internet, etc.

Follow The Money [followthemoneyng.org], a nonprofit initiative of Connected Development [CODE] has been awarded a grant of 9, 648 pounds ( N2.4 million) by Indigo Trust in the United Kingdom, mainly towards the cost of office space, internet, technology support, advertising and marketing.

Follow The Money advocates, tracks, and visualizes aid meant for local communities using creative technology tools. The initiative was able to save the lives of about 1,500 children in Bagega, Zamfara state that needs urgent medical attention for lead poisoning.

“Meeting with the team a few months ago during a short trip to Abuja, we were impressed by the dedication and achievements of the team and we are delighted to award them a grant of GBP9,648,” said Loren Treisman, Executive of Indigo Trust.

By collecting evidence, conducting interviews, and research within local communities, Follow The Money is able to painstakingly build a picture of problems and issues affecting these communities, they then use this information and their considerable social media skills to create a feedback loop between government and citizens, thus, ensuring transparency and accountability.

“Our open office space will allow us to train government officials on open data and its importance for free, while creating a government engagement strategy which incentivizes government agencies to open their data, become more efficient and connect with the citizens of Nigeria,” said Hamzat Lawal, the Co-Founder of Follow The Money.

“The office will also serve as a collaboration space for data experts, data analysts, development consultants, investigative journalists, information managers, activist, students and researchers working on ensuring aid gets to local communities it was meant for ,“ Hamzat further said.

For more information about Follow The Money, please visit http://followthemoneyng.org

For more information about Indigo Trust, please visit http://indigotrust.org.uk