Real-time polling station status and safety alerts for voters in conflict zones
Voters in Ethiopia's Oromia and Amhara regions cannot cast ballots as polling stations fail to open or voting is interrupted by security issues
SafeCast is a mobile app that lets voters in Oromia and Amhara report and view live status of polling stations. It delivers personalized safety alerts and helps users navigate to the nearest open station while avoiding dangerous areas. The app works offline-first with automatic SMS fallback to ensure critical information reaches users even during network blackouts.
Voters and residents in conflict-affected Oromia and Amhara regions of Ethiopia
Built exclusively for Ethiopian conflict regions with hybrid offline/SMS architecture that generic civic tech platforms lack, creating hyper-local intelligence no other tool provides.
supportive
Interactive map showing nearby stations with real-time open/closed status
Quick reporting with auto GPS, timestamp, and optional photo upload
Push notifications and SMS for disruptions within user's vicinity
Ensures report credibility while protecting user identity
Caches data and queues reports for later transmission
Suggests lowest-risk paths to open polling stations
Shows user's reports and their community impact
Option to submit without linking to verified identity
Dashboard for NGOs to access aggregated insights
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| phone | text | No |
| region | text | No |
| verified | bool | No |
| created_at | timestamp | No |
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| user_id | uuid | No |
| latitude | float | No |
| longitude | float | No |
| issue_type | text | No |
| description | text | Yes |
| photo_url | text | Yes |
| status | text | No |
| created_at | timestamp | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| name | text | No |
| latitude | float | No |
| longitude | float | No |
| last_status | text | No |
| last_updated | timestamp | No |
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| region | text | No |
| message | text | No |
| severity | text | No |
| created_at | timestamp | No |
/api/reportsSubmit new incident report with offline queuing support
/api/reports/nearbyGet reports and station status within radius
/api/stations/statusFetch current polling station statuses
/api/alerts/subscribeRegister for regional safety alerts
/api/user/verifyPhone verification and profile creation
Limited reporting and no SMS alerts
Individual voter use
For NGOs and observers (up to 5 seats)
| Month | Users | Conversion | MRR | ARR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 650 | 9% | $1,463 | $17,556 |
| Month 6 | 4,200 | 14% | $7,350 | $88,200 |
Real-time polling station intelligence and safety alerts for Oromia and Amhara voters
Partner with two established local NGOs focused on democratic rights in Oromia and Amhara to distribute the app to their community networks. Offer free Pro access for 3 months to the first 200 users who join via NGO referral codes. Engage Ethiopian diaspora associations in North America and Europe through Facebook groups to create awareness and encourage family members in Ethiopia to download.
Mature crisis mapping platform used globally
Complex for average voters, requires internet, not tailored to Ethiopian elections
Purpose-built mobile experience with SMS fallback specifically for low-connectivity conflict zones
Strong focus on verifiable voting
Technical and not designed for real-time physical safety in conflict areas
Addresses the immediate physical safety problem voters actually face on election day
Powerful network effects: more reports create more accurate intelligence which attracts more users. The resulting proprietary dataset of conflict patterns becomes increasingly valuable to international observers and researchers.
Smartphone penetration in Oromia and Amhara has crossed 35% while recent conflict has made voting access more dangerous than ever, coinciding with heightened international scrutiny of Ethiopia's democratic processes.
Users face retaliation for reporting incidents
Strong anonymization options, end-to-end encryption, and partnerships with international human rights organizations
Network blackouts prevent real-time usage
Robust offline-first design with Twilio SMS as primary alert channel
Coordinated fake reporting campaigns
Phone verification + anomaly detection on report patterns
Success: 70% say they would use the app and trust crowd-sourced data
Success: Minimum 12 reports per day and 45% week 2 retention
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