The GSMA mWomen Programme is delighted to announce that Ooredoo Myanmar is the latest recipient of an Innovation Fund grant. Ooredoo Myanmar joins the following grantees in developing an innovative offering tailored for resource-poor women in emerging markets: Tigo Tanzania, Etisalat Africa, Orange Mali and Airtel Uganda, Accion International, SEWA, and Grameen Foundation.
“In June 2013, Ooredoo was selected as one of the two successful applicants to be awarded a telecommunication license in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Ooredoo Myanmar will offer a wide range of mobile communications services beyond voice and data to improve the lives of Myanmar consumers and help businesses run more efficiently. This will include the development of a comprehensive portfolio of life enriching services including mobile money services, a range of mobile health services, and services to support farmers and agriculture leveraging on its experience in launching those services in other markets[…] Ooredoo and Cherie Blair Foundation for Women have partnered to work with organisations in Myanmar to train 30,000 women as Ooredoo mobile retail agents.” – Ooredoo Myanmar, corporate website
The GSMA mWomen Innovation Fund grant will support Ooredoo Myanmar in delivering a multi-tier maternal health service which leverages external partners and the experience of similar deployments launched in the Ooredoo Group. The service will provide women with access to maternal healthcare information and advice providing significant value to a population base that does not have access to health education and in some cases any healthcare. The project will be the first of its kind in Myanmar and will respond to specific maternal health issues and behaviours in Myanmar including, but not limited to:
- Over 70% of births occurring outside a professional medical facility, mostly home
- High incidence of baby malnutrition caused by ill-informed traditional practices
- High infant mortality
- Mothers as the core to family health care provision
Ooredoo is committed to including partners who provide medically proven content for the service and an escalation path for customers to seek and be treated for specific maternal health issues. Observations and analysis of user interaction with the service are expected to generate experience and knowledge for the same service in different markets but also for other service verticals like mobile money. The service will also test the ability to leapfrog users to more content-rich services through an app version of the service.
Meanwhile, the GSMA mWomen team is finalising agreements with more operators and NGOs selected from almost 200 Concept Notes through the fourth Round of the Innovation Fund. The new projects will be announced in the coming weeks.
The GSMA mWomen Global Development Alliance is a programme in partnership with USAID, DFAT, GSMA and Visa Inc.
Photo: By eGuide Travel, via Flickr.