diginexAPPRISE to connect thousands of workers with international brands to improve supply chain transparency
18 August 2022:
diginex, the impact tech company helping to solve the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges, has taken on diginexAPPRISE. The worker voice tool was initially developed by the United Nations University Institute in Macau (UNU-IIST) in partnership with The Mekong Club – an organisation working with the private sector to bring about sustainable practices against modern slavery.
diginexAPPRISE is a multilingual application that collects standardised, actionable data related to working conditions directly from workers in global supply chains. Through tailored question sets, companies can deploy surveys directly to workers in their supply chain on a variety of topics such as responsible recruitment, gender equality and pulse check living and working conditions. The innovative approach has been recognised as an effective toolkit for companies looking to enable and scale proactive worker-led due diligence. With at least 24.9 million people thought to be trapped in forced labour worldwide and millions more experiencing other exploitative working conditions, this application will help provide greater transparency across all sectors, to allow for targeted interventions.
diginexAPPRISE was developed in response to significant challenges faced during social audits, such as language barriers, a lack of privacy, and a lack of coverage of key social indicators - particularly to identify forced labour. diginexAPPRISE allows companies and frontline responders to interview workers anonymously and remotely through technology in their native language to ensure that organisations treat people fairly and respectfully.
The data collected increases transparency in organisations and reduces the chances of those raising concerns being identified, minimizing the risk of retaliation. The application – which is open source and integrated into diginex’s due diligence platform, diginexLUMEN – has already scaled to more than 50,000 workers across 15 countries. diginex’s upgrading of the tool and its subsequent integration into diginexLUMEN has unlocked opportunities to extend its reach exponentially. Since the takeover, diginexAPPRISE has been able to scale significantly and expand its capabilities by capitalising on diginex’s pioneering technology and international clients. It is already in use with some of the world’s largest companies and in some of the most complex global supply chains, such as Li & Fung.
Mark Blick, CEO, diginex says: “Companies are realising that people-led due diligence tools that enable individuals to share their experiences provide the best insight into actual working conditions on the ground. Our work with The Mekong Club is helping to overcome – and eliminate – unethical behaviour and ensure workers' rights are respected around the world. Through diginexAPPRISE, organisations will be able to align their approaches with emerging laws, including the German Supply Chain Act and the upcoming EU Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence.”
Matt Friedman, CEO, The Mekong Club said: “Now and then a technical application comes along that really adds value to our ability to collect and analyse essential information. The Apprise App is an example of this. It is a highly effective tool to identify supply chain risk. The Mekong Club is thrilled to be partnering with diginex, a proven leader in technology solutions.”
diginexAPPRISE is the latest addition to Diginex’s product suite, which includes diginexESG, diginexLUMEN and diginexCLIMATE. Find out more here.
Notes to editors:
About diginex
diginex is a disruptive impact tech business helping organisations to address the world’s most pressing sustainability issues, utilising the latest blockchain technology to lead change and increase transparency.
diginex’s frontier-pushing SaaS products are used by both companies and governments to tackle challenges including supply chain management, labour rights, due diligence, and corporate environmental responsibility. Its technology provides businesses who want to do better with the tools that both help them be more responsible, and realise the commercial benefits of ESG, including greater efficiency, reduced corporate risk, and increased ability to attract and secure investment. By using its technology to understand the impact of their operations, organisations can future-proof their business models and accelerate growth, while contributing to a better future.
Founded in 2017, with a global team of over 80 technology and impact experts, diginex is scaling rapidly and is a technology partner to major players around the world including The Coca-Cola Company, Reckitt, the US government and Fitch Ratings. Its products and platforms stand out as a new approach in the consulting-heavy world of sustainability, with a focus on using the latest innovations such as blockchain to collect and validate data and, in the process, make ESG more affordable and accessible for companies of all sizes.
