Sadaqah Made Easy: Giving sadaqah just got easier!
Intro
The Muzdex ‘Deep Dive Series’ is a series of Q&As where we sit-down with unique individuals in the Muslim space to explore the problems they’re solving for the Muslim community, what’s unique about their solutions and what’s next in their journey.
In the second instalment of this series, we sat down with Hassan Sharif, Founder at Sadaqah Made Easy (SME). SME is a web based platform operating in Bangladesh, giving opportunities to charitable fundraisers and NPOs out there to promote their projects and organisations. It currently has 142 registered members who have helped donations reach approximately 2000 victims.
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
As a computer science student and tech enthusiast, I prioritized gaining skills in design, development, marketing, and business. While working as a frontend developer for an EdTech company in Dhaka, I conducted research on building a scalable solution for clients and was inspired to create a platform for all Islamic universities (Madrasas) to connect with donors. In December 2021, I launched the first version of Sadaqah Made Easy, which links donation information with institutes. We have since enlisted at least 5 institutes, including two non-profits.
Q: What was the inspiration behind Sadaqah Made Easy and how did it all start?
Sadaqah Made Easy (SME) was created to address the lack of online donation platforms for Madrasas in Bangladesh, despite 25% of the population having access to the internet. With almost 60K Madrasas in the country relying on donations, we recognized the need to bridge the gap between non-techy Madrasa executives and potential donors.
To achieve this, we designed the platform to be minimal and user-friendly for both parties. Our aim was also to make surface-level connections with Madrasas in rural areas, where high-potential students may be limited by a lack of funding for proficient teachers.
Sadaqah Made Easy aims to make donating to Islamic schools in rural areas easier for all parties involved.
Q: How does your platform make it easier for people to give charity compared to traditional methods?
We recognize the importance of genuine reviews for any business/product and acknowledges the role of social media platforms like Facebook in fundraising. However, fraudulent activities are prevalent in economically challenged countries like Bangladesh, making it unsafe to donate to just any project. To ensure legitimacy, SME requires a trusted "referrer" to be associated with the fundraising project, and only accepts referrers known directly by someone on their team. This referrer option is not available for organizations or institutions.
Q: Can you share some of the success stories you've seen?
SME has promoted personal initiatives, such as Numan Ahmed's relief project for flood victims, and connected fundraising projects, like Professor Mohammad Sorowar Hossain's, with authentic charitable organizations. The organization Ovijatrik Social Welfare was also promoted through SME's platform, allowing them to start a weekly recurring project to help those in need. All of these success stories show the common theme of SME bringing fundraising enthusiasts and donors together to support authentic charitable projects.
Q: What do you envision for the future and how do you plan to continue to make giving Sadaqah easier for people?
SME plans to develop a mobile app to enhance the features of submitting and searching for authentic projects. The focus now is on maximizing global reach and creating fruitful connections between international donors and organizations/Madrasas. The core mission and vision are explained on the website to help benefactors and well-wishers understand the problem SME is trying to mitigate.
Founder @ Muzdex