GSMA | Mobile for Development

Meet our portfolio start-ups: SkyEye, Samoa

Samoa, like most other small Pacific Islands, has challenging logistical infrastructure due to the lack of a national addressing system. This makes it difficult for small businesses to market themselves and to use e-commerce to grow their business. SkyEye, in Samoa, develops ...

More needs to be done to ensure persons with disabilities access and use of accessibility features

Accessibility features are necessary for mobile to fully become an assistive technology and facilitate connection and participation of persons with disabilities in everyday activities that were not previously possible.

Agri e-commerce: Achieving scale through strategic partnerships

During our webinar in October 2019 – Collaborating for success in the agri e-commerce sector – we covered topics ranging from how agri e-commerce is formalising food value chains to considerations and challenges when choosing an agri e-commerce business model. In this final ...

The versatility of mobile money: Insights from Jordan and Uganda

Monday 13 January, 2020 | Blog | Jordan | Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation | Uganda

Employing mobile money-enabled CVA can come with its own challenges and adapting the service to the country context is critical, as highlighted in M4H’s case studies on Jordan and Uganda.

Bigger, bolder and better – The Africa Start-up Summit by Seedstars

Bigger, bolder and better – The Africa Start-up Summit by Seedstars The GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator team was invited to attend the annual Africa Seedstars Summit in Johannesburg on 4 and 5 December 2019. The event brought together various stakeholders including start-ups, ...

Econet’s EcoSure Solution: Driving Women’s Financial Inclusion in Zimbabwe

“Women need to be listened to. Technology is technology; it is the emotional appeal that will carry the day.” Godwin Mashiri, General Manager of Econet EcoSure, shares the importance of financial inclusion for women in Zimbabwe and the influential role they play.

Introducing ShelterTech: Leveraging technology to support people experiencing homelessness

In the United States today, people depend on internet connectivity to live, work, and interact. Yet far too many people – especially in historically overlooked and underserved communities – are increasingly being left behind. What does this digital inequity mean for ...

Partnerships are key to scaling sustainable sanitation solutions – Highlights from The Global Sanitation Economy Summit 2019

The Mobile for Development (M4D) Utilities team, represented by Radhika Sarin, was in Pune to attend the Global Sanitation Economy Summit last month. The Summit brought together 400 participants including sanitation businesses, investors, development agencies, government and ...

Humanitarian Innovation: Highlights from Round 3 and Trends from across the M4H Innovation Fund

Thursday 19 December, 2019 | Blog | Innovation fund and grants | Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation

In July 2019, with support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the GSMA launched the third round of the M4H Innovation Fund – offering grants and technical assistance for projects focused on forced displacement and complex emergencies within Asia ...

Seeking sustainable solutions for water and sanitation in emerging economies

The GSMA Mobile for Development (M4D) Utilities Programme was pleased to join over 3000 water and sanitation sector professionals from 90 countries at the bi-annual IWA Water and Development Congress and Exhibition, which was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 1 – 5 December. ...

Making the connection between mobile money and climate change

Climate change has rapidly become a concern for central banks, financial regulators, and ministries of finance. In September 2017, AFI member institutions formulated the Sharm El Sheikh Accord on Financial Inclusion, Climate Change and Green Finance, which sets commitments ...

Social commerce: blurring the line between social interaction and online shopping

The global spread of social media coupled with the rapid growth of e-commerce is giving rise to a new trend where content sharing, messaging and payments converge. Social commerce—the use of social interactions combined with the transactional nature of e-commerce—has led to ...

Learning by seeing and doing: How our field trip to Indonesia is stretching our thinking on all things payments

Earlier this year, we published a paper exploring the potential pathways for evolving the mobile money business model. With internet and smartphone penetration in emerging markets at an all-time high, the paper seeks to clearly articulate how mobile money providers can adapt ...

Telecom circularity – as a service

Monday 16 December, 2019 | Blog | Circular economy | CleanTech | Global

There is little doubt technology will play an increasingly big role in society in years to come. A role that is also about enabling the Sustainable Development Goals. But how can tech become in line with societal needs, itself?

Effective sales strategies for tech start-ups in emerging markets

Scaling a start-up can certainly be challenging in emerging markets. It requires a thoughtfully developed sales process, intentionally recruited salespeople, and effective training and leadership to support them. Challenges with hitting sales targets are often repercussions ...

Plastic waste – a new currency in low income countries

The global plastic production is expected to double over the next 10 to 15 years with growth fastest in countries with a lack a reliable waste-management system. Whether we like it or not: plastic is here to stay.

How can operators drive the inclusion of persons with disabilities?

As part of our research this year, we investigated the different activities in which MNOs are actively working for the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Considerations and challenges of agri e-commerce business models

In October 2019, we hosted the webinar Collaborating for success in the agri e-commerce sector, where we spoke to industry players Tani Hub and Lima Links as well as AgriTech investor GreenTec Capital Partners about setting up agri e-commerce platforms, and what ...

The IRC’s shift to digital humanitarian assistance

Every year, millions of dollars in cash assistance are being delivered via mobile money, supplanting traditional delivery methods. The case study explores the IRC’s experience partnering with mobile network operators (MNOs) in six countries, and the experiences of clients ...

The mobile disability gap: how do persons with disabilities access and use mobile in Kenya and Bangladesh?

When someone is born with or develops an impairing condition, they often face barriers impeding their participation in society which results in their disability. Assistive technologies (ATs) are products, services and systems that can help persons with disabilities to live ...

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