Cobone harnesses group-buying power for social activism

Successful ‘deal’ sees 100,000 children fed via WFP’s School Meals programme

Dubai, 21st March, 2012 – What happens when a group-buying pioneer decides to apply its powerful business model for social good? Dubai-based group buying site Cobone has seen tremendous success in local and regional markets, with discerning consumers swooping down on deals that at times save them up to 90 percent off the actual cost of a product or experience. Be it a designer handbag, or the chance to experience a once in a lifetime occasion, Cobone deals have seen tremendous success across the UAE, allowing people to access goods, services and luxuries at a fraction of their true price.

Yet the same model of bulk consumer buy-in, and the economies of scale thus produced, can also be used to create substantiated positive change, as Cobone demonstrated when it launched a not-for-profit deal that asked for donations to the UN World Food Programme. The deal, which was launched on 14 December, 2011, asked for AED 5 contributions that would allow WFP to feed a schoolchild for a week. Cobone customers could also pledge AED 20 to feed a child for a month, or AED 200 for the entire year.

The not-for-profit initiative saw all its proceeds donated to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian organization, which provides school meals to 22 million children in over 60 countries. The WFP School Meals programme acts as a major incentive for poor families to send their children to school. The programme has consistently proved effective in improving school enrolment in vulnerable communities and channel vital nourishment to under-privileged children. WFP provides school meals to children in need to encourage them to go to, and stay in school. Schools receiving WFP food have seen enrolment increase by 28 percent for girls and 22 percent for boys in the first year of assistance.

By the close of the Cobone deal, sufficient funds had been raised for the WFP to provide 100,000 nutritious meals to school children in need. “We were delighted at the uptake of the deal, and very pleased that our customers decided to join hands with us on a worthwhile campaign to fight hunger and improve the chances of education for young children, said Mr. Paul Kenny, CEO at Cobone. “This initiative shows the power of groups, and how technology can be a powerful mediator to bring people together for their own collective advantage as well as to help others. Cobone remains one of the pioneers of the group-buying model of commerce, and we’re looking forward to harnessing it for social endeavors too.”

When Elise Bijon, WFP Partnership & Business Development Manager for the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf region, discussed the possibility of launching this charitable deal with the Cobone team, she didn’t expect it to generate such a fast and massive mobilization: “I never thought refreshing a web page could be such a thrilling experience; the number of donations featuring on the deal’s counter was increasing by the second!” She associates the success of this initiative with Cobone’s unique ability to position solidarity as an opportunity both affordable and impossible to miss: “We are immensely grateful to Cobone for conveying the message that with just a few dirhams, people can actually make a tremendous difference in the lives of unprivileged children in this world. We certainly look forward to expanding our partnership through new mechanisms and markets and capitalizing on their leadership and reach to feed more people and pursue our fight against hunger.”

In 2011, Cobone crossed the 1 million subscribers mark after just 14 months of operation, riding a trend of growing confidence in online shopping, and enhancements in usability that are drawing in first-time online shoppers. Since commencing operations, Cobone has saved customers over AED 126 million in discounts.