Localization and cash transfers seem to go hand in hand — after all, what’s more local than giving money directly to the people who need it?
But as Mercy Corps CEO Tjada D'Oyen McKenna told Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar, transferring cash is a matter of implementing the right technology. Localization, however, is about relationship-building — and that’s a lot more complicated.
“I think sometimes people can get caught in a trap of like, compliance and making this overly mechanical, when it really is about relationships and trust and listening and approaching things with a very humble posture,” she told Devex at the Clinton Global Initiative during last month’s United Nations General Assembly.
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About the author
Lauren Evans@laurenfaceevans
Lauren Evans was formerly an Assistant Editor/Senior Associate in the Office of the President at Devex. As a journalist, she covers international development and humanitarian action with a focus on climate and gender. Her work has appeared in outlets like Foreign Policy, Wired UK, Smithsonian Magazine and others, and she’s reported internationally throughout East Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
