Suriname, one of the world’s poorest countries, can community crowdfunding help?

Suriname is one of South America’s smallest countries.

Suriname, once known as Dutch Guiana, enjoys a relatively high standard of living but also faces serious political and economic challenges.

Since independence from the Netherlands in 1975, Suriname has endured coups and civil war. Suriname is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the Americas.

Most of its people are descended from African slaves and Indian and Javanese indentured laborers brought over by the Dutch to work in agriculture. Most political parties are ethnically based.

Poverty in Suriname

borgenproject.org 19 Oct 2017

Suriname is the smallest country in South America with a population of 566,390 people, it is one of the world’s poorest countries, with over 70 percent of its population living under the poverty line.

The economy became more diversified and independent once Dutch aid stopped. Bauxite is the primary source of revenue, as well as agricultural exports and oil and gold extraction.

These improvements are, in many ways, a double-edged sword, since the environmental fallout of such extraction is incredible. It has also led to a spike in forced child labor, with more children being recruited into the mining industry.

Education rates have dropped, health problems and malnutrition have increased and high poverty rates continue to run rampant.

Wealth Distribution and Income Inequality by Country 2018

Gfmag

Suriname is a small country that a lot of economic indexes were not up-to-date. Suriname has one of the biggest gaps between rich and poor in South America with relatively low income but with a high employment rate.

Poverty is a social problem. A lot of suggestions that increased community participation is the ultimate way to reduce poverty.

Community Crowdfunding based on donation

The main religion in Suriname is Christianity, followed by Hinduism and Islam. Donation is common in these religions.

Community Crowdfunding based on cashback

If the funding can be coming from cashback from merchants such as people eating out every day, buying out every day, it will be a good compliment to the donation.

The mathematics:

As an example, GDP per capita for Suriname is about US$ 5,950 per year https://data.worldbank.org
Assumed retail merchant networks can cover all walks of life at Suriname.
5% cashback will equate to 5% x US$ 5,950 =US$300 per year
Suriname has a population of close to 0.6M. If they all participate, it will generate cashback close to US$ 180M annually.
5% cashback for wealth redistribution can also mean reducing the Gini Index by at least 5%.