Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht are backing large-scale unconditional cash transfers, giving thousands of Malawians direct control over how to improve their lives.
Canva co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht have committed $150 million to help tackle extreme poverty in Malawi through a large-scale programme that provides cash directly to people living in poverty.
The initiative, implemented in partnership with the nonprofit GiveDirectly, is built around unconditional cash transfers. Rather than directing recipients to spend the money on specific goods or services, the programme allows them to decide how best to use the funds based on their own needs and priorities.
The partnership began in 2021 with a $10 million pilot programme in Malawi. It has since expanded significantly, with the Canva Foundation committing a further $100 million to reach an additional 185,000 people across the country.
Under the expanded programme, eligible adults are expected to receive about $550, with payments designed to help households meet immediate needs, invest in businesses, support education and improve their living conditions. GiveDirectly says the programme is being implemented at district scale in Malawi and is accompanied by research to measure its long-term impact.
Early results have strengthened the case for the approach. GiveDirectly reports that in an earlier Malawi programme, the proportion of people living above the poverty line doubled one year after receiving cash, while living standards among the poorest households more than tripled. The organisation says the programme also produced wider economic activity in local communities.
The initiative reflects Perkins and Obrecht’s broader philanthropic commitment through the Canva Foundation. The founders have pledged about 30% of Canva’s value toward charitable and social-impact efforts under the company’s “Two-Step Plan,” which combines building the business with using its success to create social impact.
For Malawi, the programme comes at a time when poverty and limited household incomes remain major challenges. GiveDirectly says its broader work in the country has reached more than 288,000 people across four cities and 11 districts, with more than $140 million delivered through cash programmes since 2019.
The Malawi programme also raises a broader question about how international philanthropy can address extreme poverty. Instead of providing predetermined assistance, direct cash transfers place decision-making in the hands of the people receiving the support — an approach proponents argue can give households greater dignity, flexibility and control over their economic choices.
For Perkins and Obrecht, the Malawi investment is part of a wider ambition to use their wealth to address global challenges. For the beneficiaries, however, the impact is much more immediate: the ability to decide whether a payment goes toward food, school fees, farming, a small business, housing or another priority identified by the household itself
