Ken Banks
British social entrepreneur
Ken Banks
Ken Banks at PopTech in 2012
Born1966 (age 59–60)
Jersey
Alma materUniversity of Sussex
OccupationsSocial entrepreneur, mobile technologist
Years active2002 - present
Known formobile technology
TitleFounder of kiwanja.net and FrontlineSMS

Ken Banks (born 1966) is a British social entrepreneur and author. He is the creator of FrontlineSMS, a mobile messaging platform that allowed for mass communication in areas with limited or no Internet access.[1] He is also the founder of kiwanja.net, an organisation dedicated to the use of mobile technology for social and environmental change, with a particular focus on Africa.[2]

Early life and education

Banks was born in 1966 in Jersey, Channel Islands. Banks attended Hautlieu School and Highlands College. In 1996 he moved to the UK to study at the University of Sussex, graduating in 1999 with a BA(Hons) in Social Anthropology with Development Studies.[2][3]

Career

In 2001, Banks took on the role of Project Manager at CERCOPAN, a primate rehabilitation centre in Calabar, southern Nigeria. His time there was cut short by a road traffic accident in 2002, after which he returned to Jersey to recover. Shortly after he was approached by Fauna & Flora International (FFI), an international conservation organisation, and asked to project manage the development of a mobile-based conservation portal funded by a grant from the Vodafone Foundation. wildlive! was officially launched by Sir David Attenborough in December 2003.[4][5]

In 2003, Banks founded kiwanja.net, an organisation dedicated to the use of mobile technology for social and environmental change, with a particular focus on Africa.[6] During a field trip in 2004, Banks was approached by Kruger National Park officials in South Africa who were looking for an efficient way to use mobile phones to update Bushbuckridge community members on park news. This conversation inspired him to develop FrontlineSMS, a platform that sends and receives text messages (SMS) via mobile phones without requiring internet access, in 2005.[7]

FrontlineSMS

FrontlineSMS was used by a Nigerian organisation called Humanitarian Emancipation Lead Project (HELP) to allow Nigerian citizens to file reports during their 2007 national elections.[8] The story was picked up by the BBC, who interviewed Banks and members of HELP. Their story, Texts monitor Nigerian elections generated global attention in the platform, and user downloads and global interest accelerated as a result.[9] In 2009, Banks began a two-year FrontlineSMS Ambassadors Programme supported by the Clinton Foundation.[10] FrontlineSMS also received financial support from the MacArthur Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Open Society Institute, Rockefeller Foundation and the Omidyar Network, among others.[11]

Additional career

In 2012, Banks stepped down from the day-to-day running of FrontlineSMS, handing over leadership of the organisation to his senior management team.[12] He transitioned to the role of Chair of the Board. In the same year, Banks launched Means of Exchange, a project focused on rebuilding local communities through technology.[13] One of his first initiatives was a 'cash mob' which took place during the London Olympics.[12]

Over subsequent years he took on a number of new positions including Entrepreneur in Residence at CARE International, Visiting Fellow at RMIT University in Melbourne, Ambassador for International Development at Sussex University and Visiting Fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School.[14] In 2011, Banks was invited to take part in the UK Prime Minister’s business delegation to Africa.[15]

Books

Banks has written widely for the BBC, Guardian, Stanford Social Innovation Review and others, and has authored three books:

  • The Rise of the Reluctant Innovator (2013).[16]
  • Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation (2016).[17]
  • The Pursuit of Purpose (2022).[18]

Impact

In the June 2010 edition of their print magazine, World Watch described Banks as the world's leading voice in promoting mobile phones as an appropriate technology.[19]

Awards and recognition

Banks has been widely recognised by the technology, social entrepreneurship and design communities, and has received numerous national and international awards including:

References

  1. ^ Burbank, April. "How Ken Banks Built a Startup One Text Message at a Time". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  2. ^ a b Butler, Rhett A. (2007-04-15). "Cell phones, text-messaging revolutionize conservation approaches". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  3. ^ "Ken Banks, BA in Social Anthropology and International Development (1999) talks about his career". University of Sussex. 2018. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  4. ^ Sitas, Nadia (2008-04-16). "Mobile game to help save gorillas". EDGE of Existence. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  5. ^ "Mobile boost for conservationists". 2003-12-12. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
  6. ^ Imani M. Cheers (2013-02-25). "Changing the World, One SMS at a Time". International Reporting Project. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  7. ^ "Ken Banks revels in extraordinary pursuit of life as a social innovator in new book". Cambridge Independent. 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  8. ^ Stuart Thornton (2011-01-21). "Spreading the Message". National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  9. ^ "Texts monitor Nigerian elections". BBC. 2007-04-20. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  10. ^ "FrontlineSMS Ambassadors Programme". Clinton Foundation. Archived from the original on 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  11. ^ Livingston, Steven, ed. (2014). "FrontlineSMS:Grassroots M4D Innovation and the Challenges of Success". Bits and Atoms: Information and Communication Technology in Areas of Limited Statehood. Oxford University Press. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-0-19-994159-9. Retrieved 2017-12-07 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ a b Monty Munford (2012-08-15). "Cash Mobs: how the internet can revive local shops". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  13. ^ Kathryn Cave (2015-01-15). "Ken Banks interview: Technology for social good". IDG Connect. Archived from the original on 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  14. ^ Rob Goodier (2016-05-12). "Five Questions with Ken Banks: ICT4D Writer, Editor and FrontlineSMS Founder". Engineering for Change. Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  15. ^ "In the Spotlight with Ken, Head of Social Impact at Yoti". Yoti Blog. 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  16. ^ "The Rise of the Reluctant Innovator". LPP - The London Publishing Partnership. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  17. ^ Banks, Ken (2016). Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation: International Case Studies and Practice. Kogan Page. ISBN 978-0-7494-7591-8.
  18. ^ Banks, Ken (2022-02-21). The Pursuit of Purpose: Part Memoir, Part Study - A Book About Finding Your Way in the World. Ken Banks. ISBN 978-1-7397717-0-6.
  19. ^ https://www.kiwanja.net/media/docs/World-Watch-Appropriate-Tech-April-2010.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  20. ^ "Emerging Explorers: The New Class". National Geographic Education Blog. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  21. ^ Tides. "Tides Awards the 2011 Pizzigati Prize to Ken Banks". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  22. ^ Zeichner, Baruch (2015-11-01). "Curry-Stone Design Prize Winner 2011: Frontline SMS - Ken Banks, Sean McDonald & Laura Walker McDonald". Paradigms Podcast. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  23. ^ "The Association for Computing Machinery Awards Ken | Ashoka". www.ashoka.org. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  • https://www.kiwanja.net/
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