Accelerating Digital and
Financial Inclusion for Women

Mobile has the power to transform lives. But while access is spreading quickly, it is not spreading equally. There remains a significant gender gap in mobile phone ownership and use. It is critical that we work together to address this issue to advance women’s digital and financial inclusion for women and unlock significant commercial and socio-economic opportunities. When women thrive, societies, businesses and economies thrive.
Opportunity
We have an opportunity to contribute to the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls through mobile. This supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG #5 (Gender Equality).
Mobile can make women more connected, safer and able to access services such as health and financial services. A GSMA study showed that in each of the 15 low- and middle-income countries surveyed:

• 58% – 90% of female mobile owners agreed that having a mobile phone helps them in their day-to-day work, studies or household chores
• 54% – 91% of female mobile owners agreed that having a mobile phone makes them feel safer
• 53% – 94% of female mobile owners agreed that having a mobile phone provides access to useful information that is otherwise hard to get
But there is a significant gender gap in mobile phone ownership and use, particularly for more transformational services like mobile internet and mobile money. Women in low- and middle-income countries are, on average, 7% less likely to own a mobile phone than men, 15% less likely to use mobile internet and 33% less likely to use mobile money. The gender gap is wider in certain parts of the world – e.g. women in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are 36% and 37%, respectively, less likely than men to use mobile internet.
Closing the gender gap also represents a significant market opportunity for the mobile industry and can spur economic growth. We estimated that closing the gender gap in low- and middle-income countries between 2019 and 2023 represented a $140bn revenue opportunity for the mobile industry over those five years.
Barriers
To close the mobile gender gap we need to address issues of gender equality and social norms. Research conducted by the GSMA has identified five key barriers that should be addressed to increase mobile ownership and mobile internet use among women.
Click on each of the five barriers below to learn more in our blog series:

Recommendations
The barriers preventing women from accessing mobile technology are complex and cannot be addressed by mobile operators alone. Bridging the mobile gender gap requires action and collaboration between the international community, policymakers and regulators, and the mobile industry.
Click on the tiles below to read the GSMA’s top recommendations for each key stakeholder to close the mobile gender gap. For more in-depth insights, download ‘Reaching 50 Million Women with Mobile: A Practical Guide‘.

The Mobile Industry
- Understand your gender gap and the women in your market by conducting consumer insights research and collecting and analysing gender disaggregated data. (Learn more in this blog.)
- Make women part of your business strategy including setting KPIs to target women.
- Ensure your products, services, marketing and distribution consider women’s needs and the barriers they face to mobile access and use.

The Development Community
- Embed activities that drive women’s mobile access and use in your initiatives.
- Invest in research to better understand women’s mobile access and use and how to reduce the gender gap.
- Raise awareness of the barriers to women’s mobile access and use.

Policymakers and Regulators
- Ensure appropriate policy and regulation to lower access barriers for women.
- Promote gender equality in education and invest in programmes that improve digital literacy for women and girls.
- Improve women’s safety on mobile through effective policies and strategies including legal frameworks and awareness campaigns.
Resources
Click on the tabs below to access all our Connected Women interviews and related documents setting out key recommendations for action:
Hear from leading advocates on why digital and financial inclusion of women is so important and why closing the mobile gender gap is something we must address.

Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women
Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

Vishakha Saigal, Vice President & Head-Strategic Initiatives, Regulatory Policy & Research, Reliance Jio
Vishakha Saigal, Vice President & Head-Strategic Initiatives, Regulatory Policy & Research, Reliance Jio

Matthew Shanahan presents the key findings of the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022
Matthew Shanahan presents the key findings of the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022

MWC Africa 2021 – Africa’s Fintech revolution: Driving Financial Inclusion Through Mobile Money Diversification
This session explores the potential for the expansion of mobile money into new use cases, demonstrating opportunities for customers, businesses, NGOs and governments.
MWC Africa 2021 – Africa’s Fintech revolution: Driving Financial Inclusion Through Mobile Money Diversification

Pivotal role of Mobile Money: Driving inclusion and resilience
Pivotal role of Mobile Money: Driving inclusion and resilience
This session was produced for Financial Inclusion Week 2021

MWC Africa 2021 – Enabling Services with Mobile Money: Emerging Innovations in Africa
This session highlighted examples of emerging innovations that leverage mobile money for financial inclusion, exploring the role of mobile money providers and other ecosystem actors in the journey from innovation to scale.
MWC Africa 2021 – Enabling Services with Mobile Money: Emerging Innovations in Africa
Mobile money has become a key innovation enabler in financial inclusion and beyond. In 2021, as Africa continues to battle with COVID-19, new mobile money enabled services, from credit and savings to insurance, are emerging to build resilience and support more secure livelihoods.
Mobile money providers and tech innovators are expanding their business models and forming partnerships to enable such services.
This session highlighted examples of emerging innovations that leverage mobile money for financial inclusion, exploring the role of mobile money providers and other ecosystem actors in the journey from innovation to scale.
Join our panel of distinguished guests from Vodacom, Ensibuuko, eProd Solutions and BFA Global to learn more.

MWC Africa 2021 – Accelerating Digital And Financial Inclusion In Africa
Find out the latest statistics on mobile internet connectivity that highlight the progress made towards closing the coverage and usage gaps across the world and particularly that of Sub-Saharan Africa.
MWC Africa 2021 – Accelerating Digital And Financial Inclusion In Africa
Find out the latest statistics on mobile internet connectivity that highlight the progress made towards closing the coverage and usage gaps across the world and particularly that of Sub-Saharan Africa. In a year of unprecedented stress, loss and continuous uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic, access to mobile internet has become even more critical.
Stay tuned in to the second part of this session to hear key insights from the GSMA State of the Industry Report (SOTIR) on Mobile Money, including trends, highlights and opportunities of mobile money across Africa. Over the last year of unparalleled uncertainty, it is clear that mobile technology and mobile money have played a significant role in keeping people connected, delivering vital financial support and providing safe, contactless ways to pay for food, electricity and other life essentials.
Join our panel of distinguished guests from the ITU, MTN and Orange to learn more.
The GSMA Mobile Money Certification
The GSMA Mobile Money Certification is a global initiative to bring safer and resilient financial services to millions of customers around the world.
The GSMA Mobile Money Certification

Webinar – Mobile money profitability: Exploring current & future business models
Watch the video and learn from the GSMA and BFA Global about the case and timeliness for a transition to a more resilient ecosystem-centric profitability model.
Webinar – Mobile money profitability: Exploring current & future business models

Vishakha Saigal, Vice President & Head-Strategic Initiatives, Regulatory Policy & Research, Reliance Jio
Vishakha Saigal, Vice President & Head-Strategic Initiatives, Regulatory Policy & Research, Reliance Jio

Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom
Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

Erwan Gelebart, CEO, JazzCash
Erwan Gelebart, CEO, JazzCash

Jacqueline Ikwabe, Business Development Manager, Financial Services, Vodacom Tanzania
Jacqueline Ikwabe, Business Development Manager, Financial Services, Vodacom Tanzania

Harriet Lwakatare, Customer Services Director, Vodacom Tanzania
Harriet Lwakatare, Customer Services Director, Vodacom Tanzania

Godwin Mashiri, General Manager, Econet EcoSure
Godwin Mashiri, General Manager, Econet EcoSure

Irfan Khan, CEO, Telenor Pakistan
Irfan Khan, CEO, Telenor Pakistan

Selorm Adadevoh, CEO, MTN Ghana
Selorm Adadevoh, CEO, MTN Ghana

Brad Jones, CEO, Wave Money
Brad Jones, CEO, Wave Money

Bilal Kazmi, CMO, Telenor Pakistan
Bilal Kazmi, CMO, Telenor Pakistan

Harmeen Mehta, Global CIO, Bharti Airtel
Harmeen Mehta, Global CIO, Bharti Airtel

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women

Benoit Janin, CEO, Zanzibar Telecom
Benoit Janin, CEO, Zanzibar Telecom

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Chief of Strategic Planning and Membership, ITU
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Chief of Strategic Planning and Membership, ITU

Irina Bokova, Former Director General, UNESCO
Irina Bokova, Former Director General, UNESCO

Mary Ellen Iskenderian, CEO, Women’s World Banking
Mary Ellen Iskenderian, CEO, Women’s World Banking

Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA
Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women

Rachel Samren, Executive VP, Millicom
Rachel Samren, Executive VP, Millicom

Sonia Jorge, Executive Director, A4AI
Sonia Jorge, Executive Director, A4AI

Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman, Econet Wireless
Strive Masiyiwa, Chairman, Econet Wireless

Pradeep Shrivastava, CCO, Robi Axiata
Pradeep Shrivastava, CCO, Robi Axiata

Supun Weerasinghe, Group CEO, Dialog Axiata
Supun Weerasinghe, Group CEO, Dialog Axiata
How economic identities facilitate lending to smallholder farmers: the case of Rural Loan in Papua New Guinea
Wednesday 30 Mar 2022 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | AgriTech | AgriTech solutions | Building the financial ecosystem | Case study | Climate | Digital Identity | Digitisation of agricultural value chains | East Asia and Pacific | English | Mobile access and use | Papua New Guinea | Programme | Resource |
Less than five percent of loans in Papa New Guinea are with formal financial institutions. Through a deep dive into a novel loan product for smallholders in PNG, our new report explores how economic identities can be used as a path to financial inclusion.
Exploring women’s use of mobile money in Ghana
Monday 21 Mar 2022 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Building the financial ecosystem | Case studies | Digital literacy | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Ghana | Global and regional studies | Mobile for Development | Mobile Money | Mobile Money Programme - filter | Report | Resource |
The reports looks into the impact of the pandemic on mobile money usage for men and women and the barriers to greater usage, with a specific focus on women entrepreneurs.
Mobile Money Policy and Regulatory Handbook
Thursday 21 Oct 2021 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | English | Mobile access and use | Mobile for Development | Mobile Money | Mobile Money Programme - filter | Mobile money subject | Policy and regulation | Regulation | Report | Research | Resource |
Find out how enabling regulatory framework can unlock the full potential of mobile money services helping to drive financial inclusion, reduce economic inequalities and improve employment and economic growth.
Partnership models for mobile-enabled insurance
Friday 15 Oct 2021 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | English | Mobile for Development | Mobile Money | Mobile Money Programme - filter | Mobile money subject | Partnership engagement | Report | Resource |
Gain an insight on mobile-enabled insurance and learn about the many benefits of mobile money and insurance provider partnerships.
Mobile Money API Industry Report: The challenges of seamless integration
Thursday 14 Oct 2021 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Building the financial ecosystem | English | Global | Global and regional studies | Industry assets and standards | MNOs' operational and strategic issues | Mobile for Development | Mobile Money | Mobile Money Programme - filter | Report | Resource |
Learn about commercial models, integration challenges and ways in which Open API strategies for seamless partner integrations can be improved.
Agri DFS: Emerging business models to support the financial inclusion of smallholder farmers
Wednesday 13 Oct 2021 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | AgriTech | AgriTech solutions | Building the financial ecosystem | Case study | Digitisation of agricultural value chains | English | Financial inclusion for farmers | Financial inclusion for women | Global | Mobile for Development | Partnership engagement | Report | Resilient technology | Resource |
Agricultural digital financial services can enable smallholders to manage cash flows and protect themselves against external shocks. This report explores five agri DFS business models; their enablers, partnership models and pathways to scale.
The Mobile Money Prevalence Index (MMPI): A Country-Level Indicator for Assessing the Adoption, Activity and Accessibility of Mobile Money
Wednesday 15 Sep 2021 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Building the financial ecosystem | Financial inclusion for women | Global | Global and regional studies | Industry assets and standards | Mobile for Development | Mobile Money | Mobile Money Programme - filter | Research | Resource | State of the industry and trends |
Since the launch of mobile money in the 2000s, the GSMA has received hundreds of requests for country-level insights into the industry. These requests have come from multilateral institutions, national and regional central banks, ...
Mobile Money Remittances: Supporting Lives During a Crisis
Wednesday 7 Jul 2021 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Mobile for Development | Mobile Money | Mobile Money Programme - filter | Policy and regulation | Report |
COVID-19 had significant impacts on the international remittances market with nearly every remittance family globally impacted. The mobile money industry responded rapidly and proactively, helping families transfer money affordably ...
The Impact of COVID-19 Regulatory Measures on Mobile Money Services
Thursday 1 Jul 2021 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Case studies | Case study | English | Ghana | Kenya | Mobile for Development | Mobile Money | Mobile Money Programme - filter | Policy and regulation | Regulation | Report | Rwanda | Sub-Saharan Africa | Zambia |
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every sector globally, significantly reducing consumer demand for products and services. Governments worldwide have allocated more than $13 trillion to counter these devastating economic ...
The GSMA Mobile Money API as an enabler for Sustainable Development Goals
Tuesday 13 Apr 2021 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Building the financial ecosystem | English | Financial inclusion for farmers | Financial inclusion for women | Mobile for Development | Mobile Money | Mobile Money Programme - filter | Policy and regulation | Report | Resource |
Mobile money is a rapidly growing sector of the financial services industry across developing markets, reaching many people who do not have access to other financial services.
Are the effects of mobile money regulation gender neutral?
Monday 15 Feb 2021 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Mobile Money | Research |
This policy note discusses the main findings of new GSMA research on the relationship between mobile money regulation and usage. The analysis combines data from the Mobile Money Regulatory Index and the Global Findex Database 2017 and ...
Reaching 50 Million Women with Mobile: A Practical Guide
Monday 6 Apr 2020 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Case studies | Connected Women | English | Financial inclusion for women | Gender | Latin America & the Caribbean | Middle East and North Africa | Mobile internet for women | Report | South Asia | Sub-Saharan Africa |
This report is a practical guide for mobile operators seeking to reach women with mobile across low- and middle-income countries. For the last 10 years, our GSMA Connected Women programme has been dedicated to this challenge.
10 Lessons Learnt: Closing the Gender Gap in Internet Access and Use
Monday 23 Sep 2019 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Connected Women | English | Gender | Mobile access and use | Mobile for Development | Mobile internet for women | Report | Resource |
In this report, you will find 10 key lessons to consider when implementing projects that aim to increase women’s access to and use of the internet.
Digital Equity Policy Brief W20 Japan 2019
Thursday 14 Feb 2019 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion | Connected Women |
The W20, under the Japanese Presidency, presents this policy brief to outline some of the challenges for women’s access and meaningful use of digital technologies, and to provide guidance for coordinated and effective action by the G20.
Recommendations for action: bridging the gender gap in Internet and broadband access and use
Monday 19 Nov 2018 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion |
In March 2017, the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development’s Working Group on the Digital Gender Divide, co-chaired by the GSMA and UNESCO, launched a report that outlines a set of practical actions that stakeholders can take ...
Accelerating digital and Women financial inclusion for women
Monday 19 Nov 2018 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion |
The gender gap is not going to close on its own. Its root causes are driven by a complex set of social, economic and cultural barriers. These obstacles can only be overcome with targeted intervention by all stakeholders.The GSMA ...
W20 Digital Inclusion Background paper
Friday 30 Mar 2018 | Accelerating Digital and Financial Inclusion |
As Topic Chair of the Digital Inclusion workstream within the W20, the GSMA commissioned this background paper which summarises the present situation of the digital divide, describes the challenges involved, and reviews existing ...