Canva founders give $150M for Malawi cash transfers

Canva founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht have committed $150 million to an unconditional cash transfer programme in Malawi.

The programme is run through the Canva Foundation in partnership with nonprofit GiveDirectly, with payments sent via mobile phones with no restrictions on use.

In Khongoni sub-district, 90% of recipients moved above the extreme poverty line within three months of receiving the $550 payment.

Perkins and Obrecht signed The Giving Pledge in 2021 and have pledged to donate over 80% of their personal wealth through the Canva Foundation.

More than 139,000 people in Malawi have received the cash transfers as part of the world's largest such programme in a low-income country.