The game that fixes cities
How young people in Japan are earning cryptocurrency for reporting missing manholes
In cities across Japan and the Philippines, an app called Tekkon is making data collection cool.
Tekkon is a Pokemon GO style game which encourages users to track down broken infrastructure – such as missing manhole covers and tangled electrical wires- and then upload a picture.
The gamers are rewarded for each photo with cryptocurrency, and the data is sold to utilities companies – cutting their costs and making it more likely that they’ll fix the problem.
In Kenya, another app called Hello Tractor is trying to make it easier for farmers to find a tractor.
Farm machinery is often too expensive for small farmers, meaning days of back-breaking work to get fields ready for crops.
But the app connects tractor drivers with farmers for just the time they need - which can boost profits and help grow the economy.
We investigate whether these apps are working to solve the problems they’re aiming at.
