GSMA Mobile for Development

Fostering ecosystems and entrepreneurship in the Pacific – DFAT, GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator and Seedstars

Kenya, Indonesia, Tanzania, India, Jordan, Colombia, Vietnam, Brazil, Ethiopia – over 90 local Seedstars start-ups competitions, now Papua New Guinea and Samoa! Our mission is to build synergies between start-ups and mobile operators, with the aim of scaling innovative and ...

Meet our portfolio start-ups: Coliba, Côte d’Ivoire

According to a 2018 report by the World Bank, more than five million tonnes of waste are generated each year in Côte d’Ivoire, and this is expected to double by 2030. Less than half of the current waste is being collected and only about three per cent is being recycled, with ...

Re-imagining solar distribution: The Fenix International – Musanga Logistics partnership

Last-mile delivery is often one of the most complicated steps in the logistics process, particularly for hardware companies with potential or actual customers in remote areas of emerging markets. This layer of complexity, which also exists in the solar energy supply chain, ...

Two years into Round 1: Updates from the Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund

Two years! It’s already been two years since we announced the first cohort to be selected to receive funding and support from the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund. While this first group of start-ups has now graduated from our programme and completed their ...

Inclusive, digital, and innovative: The African Tech at AFSIC, Afrobytes and VivaTech events!

Between 8 and 17 May 2019, the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator team, represented by Max Cuvellier and Maxime Bayen, was invited to participate in three consecutive events focused on African Tech in London and Paris. We had the opportunity to present our work for the first time at ...

A bird’s-eye view of the Samoan digital ecosystem

In April 2019, the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator team visited Samoa to work with Innovation Fund grantee SkyEye and their partners. We met with various stakeholders in the market and thought we would take this opportunity to share a few learnings about the tech ecosystem in ...

Meet our portfolio start-ups: Ensibuuko

According to the FinScope 2018 survey, only three per cent of adults in Uganda had borrowed from a commercial bank in the 12 months prior to the survey and 11 per cent of adult savers had done so through a commercial bank. In contrast, approximately 50 per cent of adults who ...

Akwaba to the Côte d’Ivoire tech ecosystem!

Between 15 and 20 April 2019, the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator team, represented by Gregory Omondi and Maxime Bayen, was in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, with two objectives in mind. Firstly, to work with two of our portfolio start-ups based locally. Secondly, to participate in the ...

What did we learn at the Seedstars Global Summit 2019?

The GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator team was invited to attend the sixth annual Private Investor Forum at the Seedstars Global Summit, in Lausanne on 4 and 5 April 2019. The event brought together over 1,000 people including start-ups, investors, mentors, mobile operators and ...

One year into Round 2: Updates from the Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund

Back in February 2018, we revealed a new cohort of start-ups from across Asia Pacific and Africa selected for the second round of the Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund. In August 2018, we then updated you on their progress at the six-month mark. Now, a year into working ...

Papua New Guinea – how can mobile technology be harnessed for digital transformation?

This blog was co-authored by Catherine Highet, Michael Nique, Amanda H A Watson and Amber Wilson. Under the theme of ‘Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future’, Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, hosted the Asia Pacific Economic ...

Meeting a maturing tech ecosystem at Orange Fab Tunisia

On 26 March 2019, the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator team was invited to run a workshop on the topic, ‘How to do business with telco operators’ for a dozen selected start-ups at the invitation of the newly launched Orange Fab Tunisia. The day in Tunis provided an opportunity to ...

The Ecosystem Accelerator annual bootcamp, MWC and 4YFN summarised in four insights

Between 21 and 28 February 2019, the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator programme ran its annual portfolio start-up bootcamp, and participated in MWC and 4YFN in Barcelona, Spain. The week was packed with unique insights and our portfolio start-ups had unparalleled opportunities to ...

Meet our portfolio start-ups: Sehat Kahani, Pakistan

Pakistan faces a multitude of challenges in its healthcare sector. The country ranked 154 among 195 countries in terms of quality and accessibility of healthcare, lagging behind its South Asian counterparts Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Fifty per cent of Pakistan’s ...

International Women’s Day: Meet eight start-up founders from our portfolios

As Friday, 8 March marks International Women’s Day – the GSMA Mobile for Development Utilities and Ecosystem Accelerator teams are collaborating to celebrate the achievements of some of the female leaders within our respective Innovation Fund current and past portfolios, by ...

Our takeaways from Africa Tech Summit Kigali

Wednesday 6 March, 2019 | Blog | Ecosystem Accelerator | Ecosystem Accelerator | English

In February, the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator had a chance to participate in the second edition of Africa Tech Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. The event took place between 13th and 15th of February and brought together several stakeholders including start-ups, mobile operators, ...

Egypt: Africa’s mobile oasis scaling inwards and outwards

Between 28 January and 1 February, our Ecosystem Accelerator team was in Egypt to provide further support to our portfolio start-up, Raye7, and reflect on the progress made since we started funding them back in early 2017. During the week, we supported Raye7 with market ...

Meet the Ecosystem Accelerator start-ups and team at MWC Barcelona and 4YFN 2019!

The GSMA’s MWC Barcelona and 4YFN events are fast approaching and will be held in Barcelona between 25 and 28 February 2019. The two events bring together mobile operators, start-ups, regulators, tech hardware manufacturers, banks and investors among other stakeholders to ...

Start-up due diligence visits: Insights from 15 African and Asia Pacific markets

In December 2018, the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator programme announced the third cohort of its Innovation Fund. The third cohort of 11 start-ups emerged from a pool of 699 start-up applications, having gone through a rigorous selection process. Before the selection, between ...

‘Corp-Up’ partnerships: Three practical steps for mobile operators looking to partner with start-ups

On the 28 November 2018, the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator team was invited to participate in a workshop on ‘Corp-Up: Start-up Collaboration As The Future of Innovation’ in Vienna, Austria. The event, hosted by Match-Maker Ventures (MMV) in collaboration with ...

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