CloudFactory: Crowdsourcing Against Poverty
CloudFactory has launched a new platform, called Cloud Labor, at the recent TechCrunch Disrupt. The Cloud Labor API can be used by businesses to create crowdsourcing projects which will be immediately sent to thousands of cloud workers in developing countries and call them to action.
CloudFactory is a startup based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It seeks to create working opportunities for people in developing countries through crowdsourcing and the Cloud Labor platform is expected to create a bridge between businesses and a workforce that is eager to work.
Companies can crowdsource all kinds of digital work, like tagging and inserting data from images, handwriting digitization and audio transcriptions, all those tasks that cannot be delegated to computers because they’re no good at it.
CloudFactory is also offering the opportunity for Cloud workers to buy their own Netbook, Internet access and headphones, as well as ground training by granting them a micro-loan. This project is starting in Nepal and will soon expand to other developing countries.
Similar to how Kiva connects people through micro-loans, CloudFactory is connecting people through micro-work. We see this market-based approach to poverty alleviation being a key to unlocking the massive human potential in developing countries.
Mark Sears, CEO of CloudFactory.