What makes you tick?

I got a phone call from an anonymous reader last week. What makes you tick, she asks me. Of course I couldn't think of a single thing right then, but she got me thinking.

I eventually managed to compile quite a decent list, including milk tart, hot gossip, new places, office politics, deadlines, foreign accents, current affairs, word magicians, conversations after the second glass of wine, Karoo sunsets and hardegat men.

Top of the list, however, is simple ideas. There's just nothing that gets me as excited as an obvious solution to a big problem that can potentially make a huge difference to people's lives. Which is one of the reasons I (sometimes) love writing on technology. Every now and again a truly inspirational, proudly South African story slips through the cracks to make you feel that anything is possible.

Take Wizzit, the cellphone bank for poor people, as example. The Wizz-kids - the first cellphone bank in the world to specifically target the under- and unbanked poor market segments - don't bullshit about how bank fees can't be lowered to give more people access to banking. They're simply getting into their helicopter to reach rural people with cheap, affordable banking services. Which means in future the two girls I once gave a lift from Kroonstad to fetch money from their mother in Jozi, can simply get their monthly stipend deposited to their Wizzit account via sms.

My good news story for the week is a bit old, but still incredibly inspiring and has such great potential to make a difference that I simply have to share it. The South African Social Index (SASIX) has been going for about 7 months now, and has attracted a number of "blue chip NGOs" and "investments" of about R2,5 million.

SASIX works like a stock exchange. In stead of listing companies that complied to a whole list of requirements, they list NGOs and charities with ideas for sustainable projects that will have a measurable outcome. SASIX isn't interested in the Nelson Mandela Children's Funds of the NGO world, but get excited about rural, innovative, unknown projects where people really have no access to "social capital markets" (i.e. big corporates who spend some money to improve their reputations).

Whether animals, kids, HIV/Aids, the environment, entrepreneurship or education makes you tick, you can find a project to invest in. Shares cost R50 each. By investing in a Sasix-listed project, you know your money won't be wasted on admin, parties or politics - details on every project are available on the website and shareholders get regular feedback on progress with implementation & the eventual outcomes.

The Siyanakekele project in the Eastern Cape got me excited - check out www.sasix.co.za to see if anything turns you on.