Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AKOHA ANNOUNCES COMMUNITY CHALLENGE WITH ROOM TO READ AT TECHCRUNCH 50
San Francisco, CA – September 10, 2008 – Akoha, a developer of
real-world social games that launched a private beta at the TechCrunch 50 conference today, is
partnering with Room to Read in a community challenge to sponsor the construction of a library
in Nepal. Together with Room to Read and a local school community, Akoha will sponsor the
construction of a new library and fill it with books, games and posters to give children
access to enhanced educational resources.
Akoha is a new social reality game based on the pay-it-forward concept. Using mobile, web and
real-world mission cards to create a launch pad for traveling acts of kindness, Akoha answers
the question: What if playing a game could make the world a better place?" Akoha players
carry out missions that involve performing small acts of kindness for others. The activities
of Akoha players are described on "mission cards" that involve real world and
virtual challenges. As Akoha players perform more missions, they advance in the game, recruit
new players and spread good deeds across the planet. Akoha mission cards include activities
such as "Donate an Hour of Your Time", "Give Someone a Book", and
"Send Drinks to a Couple in Love".
The goal of the Community Challenge is to ensure that Akoha game play during the private beta
period will support educational opportunities for children in the developing world. In the
future Akoha players will be able to link their game play to various charitable organizations
of their choice. During the beta, the playtesting community will be able to participate in
this community challenge so that their game play will create positive real-world change.
Room to Read had its humble origins in Nepal in 2000, where founder John Wood started bringing
donated books to rural communities. Since then, Room to Read has expanded its work into nine
countries throughout Asia and Africa and impacted the lives of over 2 million children. Room
to Read's libraries give children a friendly space to read and explore. Their children's books
allow students to read stories in their local language. Their schools give children a safe
place to learn. Their computer labs make it possible for children to gain twenty-first century
skills. And their scholarships enable girls to enroll and stay in school. Room to Read's goal
is to impact over 5 million children by 2010 through bringing educational opportunities and
resources to children throughout the developing world.
"Akoha is a new kind of game experience that allows players to spread deliberate acts of
kindness in a fun way", said Austin Hill, co-founder and CEO of Akoha. "Throughout
my long friendship with my business partner Alex Eberts, we've always given each other and our
friends books, a habit that has influenced who we are today. When we read Leaving
Microsoft to Change the World, we were both inspired by John Wood's story. That's why we
are especially proud to have Room to Read as our initial charity partner, ensuring that the
missions completed by Akoha players will provide quality educational opportunities in the
developing world."
"As a fellow entrepreneur, I am thrilled that Room to Read is part of the Akoha
launch," said Room to Read Founder and CEO John Wood. "The idea for Room to Read
started a decade ago when a Nepali teacher said a few words that would forever change my life
– 'perhaps sir, you will someday come back with books.' With all the good fortune I had
been blessed with, I felt compelled to 'play it forward' and return with books for his school.
This is the same principle Akoha is utilizing and why we are so excited to be their initial
beneficiary."
About TechCrunch50
Founded in 2007 by leading technology blog TechCrunch and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, the TechCrunch50 conference provides a platform for
early-stage, and frequently unfunded, companies to launch for the first time to the technology
industry's most influential venture capitalists, corporations, angel investors, fellow
entrepreneurs and the international media. Companies are selected to participate exclusively
on merit. TechCrunch50 is supported by corporate sponsors Google, Microsoft, MySpace and
Yahoo!, as well as venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital, Mayfield Fund, Clearstone
Venture Partners, Charles River Ventures, Founders Fund and Fenwick & West.
About Room to Read
Room to Read is a leader in providing educational opportunities to underprivileged children
around the world. Room to Read was established in 2000 based on the belief that education is
crucial to breaking the cycle of poverty in the developing world. Since then, the organization
has supported more than two million children by providing better access to education. Room to
Read has assisted in building more than 450 schools, 5,500 bilingual libraries and 110
computer labs. It has published 226 new children's books in local languages, representing more
than two million books and has awarded 4,036 girls long-term scholarships. Room to Read is
providing opportunities that change children's lives and communities throughout Cambodia,
India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zambia. Its goal is to create an
additional 5,000 libraries to bring education to five million children by 2010.
About Akoha
Akoha is a new reality-based game that uses mobile, web and real-world missions to create a
new type of game play experience. Akoha was founded by Austin Hill and Alex Eberts, long-time
friends and entrepreneurs who first worked together when Hill co-founded Zero-Knowledge
Systems (now Radialpoint) and Eberts served as its founding product manager. The idea for
Akoha came from a series of discussions resulting from the founders' attendance at the TED
Conference in Monterey, where the theme was "Ideas Big Enough to Change the World",
and the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, where their friends were discussing movies that can
make a difference. Their conversations about game design, social change and Internet trends
led co-founders Hill and Eberts to ask the question, "What if playing a game could make
the world a better place?" On April 28, 2008, Akoha announced it had received $1.9
million in financing from angel investors. For more information, visit www.akoha.com.
# # #
Contact:
Rebecca Hankin, Director of Communications and Marketing
Room to Read
rhankin@roomtoread.org
+1 (415) 561-3331 x142