GSMA Connected Women Commitment Initiative
Mobile operators are working to reduce the gender gap in mobile internet and mobile money services
In an increasingly connected world, women are being left behind. Across low- and middle-income countries women are eight per cent less likely than men to own a mobile phone, 20 per cent less likely to use mobile internet, and 33 per cent less likely to use mobile money. These significant gender gaps are preventing women from reaping the full benefits of mobile technology.
Closing the mobile gender gap is critically important and can deliver significant socio-economic benefits to underserved women, their communities and the economy. We estimate that closing the gender gap in access and use could generate a revenue increase for the mobile industry of 12 to 37 per cent in a typical low- and middle-income market in Africa, and 11 to 54 per cent in Asia. When women thrive, societies, businesses and economies thrive.
Mobile operators are driving an effort to reduce the gender gap in mobile internet and mobile money by making formal Commitments to increase the proportion of women in their mobile internet and/or mobile money customer base.
Connected Women Commitment Partners
2020 – 2023
14 organisations have made or extended their Commitment to improve digital and/or financial inclusion for women:
Grameenphone
“We at MTN Mobile Money are elated to be part of the GSMA Connected Women Initiative. Globally, females make up a little over half of the world’s population, but their contribution to economic activity and well-being is far below its potential, resulting in socio-economic consequences. Women play a pivotal role in contributing to the growth of the economy, and we are therefore committed to ensuring that we bridge the gap in women participation in financial services.”
- Eli Hini, General Manager, Mobile Financial Service
[video youtube="https://www.youtube.com/embed/https://youtu.be/embed/7QNCHFJm454"]
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“Ooredoo Maldives commits to increasing the number of women who benefit from mobile internet and mobile money services. Ooredoo strongly believes that being connected has a positive socio-economic impact and empowers society as a whole. We aim to extend these opportunities to all women in the Maldives, ensuring that they too have access to the extraordinary benefits of mobile technology. The company continues to encourage women to use mobile technology through initiatives such as the Smart Ideas for Women challenge. This initiative aims to highlight challenges faced by women in local communities and creates awareness on how mobile technology can provide smart solutions to these issues.
Modern technologies have had a profound impact in enriching people’s lives and creating new opportunities for growth. However, a large percentage of women across the world are deprived of these possibilities due to challenges in accessing and using mobile phones and mobile internet. We are pleased to support GSMA’s Connected Women Commitment, with the aim of closing this digital gap and extending the opportunities of mobile technologies to all women in the Maldives, ensuring that they too can reap its remarkable benefits for economic and social development.”
- Vikram Sinha, Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo Maldives
Robi will work towards enhancing the digital literacy of women across the country, increase smartphone penetration among its female mobile subscribers and develop more female focussed mobile content.
Robi has already delivered a number of community engagement programmes that will encourage women to get connected to the internet. These programmes include; an online safety campaign, Wi-Fi access points in one thousand places and a special bundle offer for working women. Robi strongly believes that this project will enable women across the country to further contribute towards building a better society and a stronger economy.
“As a Group committed to the acceleration of the digital economy, Axiata welcomes the work of the GSMA Connected Women programme to bridge the mobile gender gap. There is much more operators can do to encourage gender diversity and increase women’s ownership and use of mobile phones. Improved access to mobile services opens up possibilities for women and girls in education, healthcare, enterprise and business. As such, Axiata supports initiatives for greater gender inclusion and equal opportunities in all the markets where we operate.”
Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, Managing Director/President & Group Chief Executive Officer, Axiata Group Berhad
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Safaricom PLC
[heroimage image="/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Safaricom-CP-Web-Banner2.png" text="Safaricom PLC"] As part of the Connected Women Programme’s Commitment Partner initiative, Safaricom has committed to increase the number of women who use their mobile money service from 46% to 50% and their data services from 47% to 50% by 2023.
[video youtube="https://www.youtube.com/embed/210Zzv-A7nE"]
“At Safaricom, we believe that a more equitable and just society is not possible if all members are not present. In line with SDG 10 of reducing inequalities, we are committed to protecting and promoting the rights of women.
Mobile phone penetration has enabled women to gain access to vital information from the internet and has opened up a world of opportunities that has made a huge impact in their lives. We continue to work towards reducing the mobile gender gap, to allow the benefits of connectivity to be shared equally. This is why we are pleased to be part of the GSMA’s Connected Woman Initiative.”
- Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer
Maisha Ni Digital Campaign To help close the mobile gender gap in Kenya, Safaricom launched the Maisha Ni Digital (‘Life is Digital’) campaign in partnership with Google. The campaign aims to drive access to smartphones and to the internet, particularly among women in rural areas, by addressing three key barriers to mobile internet access: Affordability, Relevance and Digital Skills. In June 2018, Safaricom, in partnership with Google, introduced the Neon smartphone range, the first Android (Go edition) devices in Kenya. The company sold more than 600,000 Neon smartphones in 2019, making it the most popular and affordable smartphone in its retail shops across the country. Watch this interview with Charles Kare Wanjohi, Director, Consumer Business Unit at Safaricom, who shares his insights into driving digital inclusion for women in Kenya. Click on the links below to watch testimonials from Neon Kicka customers, who explain how access to a smartphone and mobile internet has improved their lives.
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Turkcell Bizce is the women platform that supports equal opportunity, personal development and economic engagement for women. The usage of Turkcell Bizce is data free, enabling a better customer experience with new app design.
"Vodacom Tanzania is pleased to be part of the GSMA Connected Women Initiative. We are committed to increase the number of women using Vodacom M-Pesa from 32% to 40% by 2020. This commitment is in line with Vodacom Group’s target to connect 50 million women in emerging markets by 2020."
"Vodacom Tanzania has rolled out a number of initiatives to help us deliver on our commitment, including M-Pawa – our micro credit and micro savings product – which has made it possible for over 3 million users to have access to micro loans through our mobile platform; men and women who would have otherwise remained unbanked."
- Hisham Hendi, Acting Managing Director
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a
2016 – 2020
The following organisations made formal Commitments to increase the number of women in their mobile internet and/or mobile money customer base by 2020:
Airtel-Tigo Rwanda
[heroimage image="/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cw11.png" text="Airtel-Tigo Rwanda"] As part of the GSMA’s Connected Women Commitment Initiative, Airtel-Tigo Rwanda has committed to increase the proportion of women in their mobile money customer base in Rwanda from 39 per cent to 45 per cent by 2020.
BRIDGING THE MOBILE MONEY GENDER GAP IN RWANDA
“When Tigo Rwanda signed the Connected Women Commitment Initiative early last year it was because we believed that increasing the number of women using Mobile Financial Services would in turn allow them to improve their quality of life, that of their families and that of their communities. As part of our GSMA commitments, on 8, March we launched the $65,000 Tigo Women Entrepreneurship Fund. This Fund, which aims to provide startup capital to more than 300 women from across the country to open mobile money businesses, is linked to two key principles – outreach and sustainability. We see these principles as critical to developing sound financial inclusion capable of serving rural communities and enabling women to improve their economic activities and livelihoods”.Airtel-Tigo Rwanda is committed to increasing the number of women using mobile financial services from 39 per cent of total users to 45 per cent by 2020. Women take on a significant amount of responsibility for their families’ financial management, including, emergency payments, remittances and daily domestic management; in fact women direct up to 90 per cent of their income to their families and communities. Increasing women access to mobile financial services will in turn allow them to improve their quality of life, that of their families’ and that of their communities. Airtel-Tigo Rwanda's target is to deliver financial inclusion across the country and we cannot achieve this without women. Read our blog post on how Airtel-Tigo Rwanda is empowering women agents.
EMPOWERING WOMEN AGENTS
Research has highlighted that lack of trust in digital financial services was because of the level of customer service the women were getting from male agents. The Tigo Women Entrepreneurship fund was set up to recruit, train and offer initial funding to women so that they could become Tigo Cash agents. To date, Airtel-Tigo Rwanda has empowered over 70 women as Tigo cash agents and the impact on the women’s lives and businesses is beginning to show. Airtel-Tigo Rwanda targets to have more than 1,200 women as agents within 2017. [video youtube="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4mZcqsPVM8s"]
Dialog Axiata PLC
[heroimage image="/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cw16.png" text="Dialog Axiata PLC"] Dialog Axiata supports the GSMA’s Connected Women initiative by committing to increase the percentage of women using mobile internet and mobile money services within its subscriber base.
“Dialog has always been at the forefront of driving connectivity in the country. We always see connectivity, as a means of bridging the divide, be it the poverty gap or the education gap. In this particular challenge that we are looking at — bridging the digital divide in women — we see that women have access to unlocking larger opportunities for the communities. This challenge and the opportunity have been recognised by governments to drive education.
It is very important to have women with us to enable digitisation and to unlock growth in our economies because they are the key enablers of growth and of societies within our ecosystem.”
— Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive Officer, Dialog Axiata.
DIALOG’S APPROACH AND INITIATIVES
Since its inception, Dialog Axiata has developed and practiced a Philosophy of Inclusion. This philosophy is firmly ingrained in the company’s core values that ultimately translate into sustainable and responsible business models. The company’s 4As Philosophy of service Availability, Affordability, Applicability and Affinity is an extension of its inclusion strategy, which recognises the importance of supporting traditionally marginalized groups to gain access to digital and mobile money services by minimising entry barriers. As the number one mobile service provider in the country, Dialog Axiata acknowledges the numerous significant roles women play in society. However, society tends to overlook their immense and valuable contribution, and they are often marginalised due to lack of self-advocacy and their selfless nature; always putting others’ needs before their own. The company firmly believes that it is of utmost importance to help women improve their lives by increasing their access to digital and financial services because when women are educated and empowered, the social and economic benefits are felt throughout the community. Dialog Axiata’s sustainability initiatives are backed by continuous research that helps to develop well-informed strategies. This research highlighted the marked differences in the ways that men and women consume services, confirming that a generic strategy doesn’t always produce the best results. This has resulted in the company striving to break any entry barriers faced by women by taking an inclusive approach to relevant products and services. One example is the 5-Star Partner Programme designed to extend the company’s reach in rural areas. A community study revealed that women in Sri Lanka — particularly those in the more rural, conservative areas — feel more comfortable approaching and interacting with female rather than male retailers with regards to mobile-related queries and activities. To break this barrier, the programme integrates women into the rural retail chain by providing them with the necessary knowledge and training and thereby increasing women’s accessibility to mobile services. ‘Secret Code’ is yet another service designed to break barriers for women. It was developed to provide customers — especially females — the much needed confidentiality when using their personal mobile number during reloads or third party Star Points transactions. Another example is the launch of an island-wide ICT awareness programme targeting rural women. This is directly linked to the GSMA Connected Women initiative and aims to reduce the gender gap in mobile and internet usage in the country. The programme, conducted via a series of workshops, intends to educate women on the benefits of using the internet for personal development and entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as cyber safety. This is directly linked to the GSMA Connected Women initiative and aims to reduce the gender gap in mobile and internet usage in the country. The programme, conducted via a series of workshops, intends to educate women on the benefits of using the internet for personal development and entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as cyber safety. In an effort to minimise the digital divide faced by women, and make products and services more relevant to them, Dialog Axiata launched the first ever portal dedicated to women. The portal offers access to a myriad of services relevant to women such as health tips, diet & lifestyle tips and emergency alerts —an innovative service which allows one to alert a group of trusted loved ones during an emergency. Agriculture is an important sector in the Sri Lankan economy making it a significant source of employment. Dialog Axiata recognized the need to support the local farming community and launched the ‘Govi Mithuru’ service in 2015, to share information via mobiles regarding land preparation, cultivation, crop protection and harvesting. The service was made relevant to women too by including customised and timely advice regarding home gardening, improved family nutrition and other related topics. [video youtube ="<iframe https://www.youtube.com/embed/AiseeAHm1qE"]
“Digi is happy to partner with the GSMA in a collective effort to bring mobile connectivity to more women globally. In Malaysia, 6 million women have yet to access the internet, and bridging the digital gender gap will help ensure these women can be active participants and contributors in the digital economy.
We hope to see every Malaysian woman connected and empowered because we believe these efforts will cause a socio-economic ripple effect for the betterment of families, communities and society at large. In support of the GSMA’s Connected Women initiative, we commit to increasing the proportion of women in our mobile internet customer base in Malaysia from 42 per cent to 47 per cent by 2020.”
Albern Murty, Chief Executive Officer of Digi Telecommunications in Malaysia
Grameenphone
“The telecommunication industry has played an important role in the development of Indonesia’s economy over the last few years. Currently, Indonesia has 278 million mobile phone users — surpassing the number of our own population, over 250 million people — however the number of women access to mobile internet is only 13 million to date. We believe that empowering women through mobile connectivity can increase the welfare of Indonesia’s society. Many studies reference women is key for development of society. Indosat Ooredoo support GSMA’s Connected Women initiative, by committing to increase women access to mobile internet from 40 per cent to 43 per cent by 2020. With strong vision to become the leading digital telco in Indonesia, we believe Indosat Ooredoo can reach this goal”
Alexander Rusli, President Director and CEO, Indosat Ooredoo
Safaricom PLC
[heroimage image="/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Safaricom-CP-Web-Banner2.png" text="Safaricom PLC"] As part of the Connected Women Programme’s Commitment Partner initiative, Safaricom has committed to increase the number of women who use their mobile money service from 46% to 50% and their data services from 47% to 50% by 2023.
[video youtube="https://www.youtube.com/embed/210Zzv-A7nE"]
“At Safaricom, we believe that a more equitable and just society is not possible if all members are not present. In line with SDG 10 of reducing inequalities, we are committed to protecting and promoting the rights of women.
Mobile phone penetration has enabled women to gain access to vital information from the internet and has opened up a world of opportunities that has made a huge impact in their lives. We continue to work towards reducing the mobile gender gap, to allow the benefits of connectivity to be shared equally. This is why we are pleased to be part of the GSMA’s Connected Woman Initiative.”
- Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer
Maisha Ni Digital Campaign To help close the mobile gender gap in Kenya, Safaricom launched the Maisha Ni Digital (‘Life is Digital’) campaign in partnership with Google. The campaign aims to drive access to smartphones and to the internet, particularly among women in rural areas, by addressing three key barriers to mobile internet access: Affordability, Relevance and Digital Skills. In June 2018, Safaricom, in partnership with Google, introduced the Neon smartphone range, the first Android (Go edition) devices in Kenya. The company sold more than 600,000 Neon smartphones in 2019, making it the most popular and affordable smartphone in its retail shops across the country. Watch this interview with Charles Kare Wanjohi, Director, Consumer Business Unit at Safaricom, who shares his insights into driving digital inclusion for women in Kenya. Click on the links below to watch testimonials from Neon Kicka customers, who explain how access to a smartphone and mobile internet has improved their lives.
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Tigo El Salvador
[heroimage image="/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cw8.png" text="Tigo El Salvador"] As part of the GSMA’s Connected Women Commitment Initiative, Tigo El Salvador has committed to increase the proportion of women in their Mobile Internet customer base in El Salvador from 48% to 50% by 2020. TIGO El Salvador is committed to equalize the use of the Internet among its male and female clients by 2020. To achieve this, TIGO will implement initiatives to contribute to the closing of the digital and financial gap in the country. One of such initiatives is “Salvadorans connected for development” which aims to train approximately 100,000 women in how to use the Internet in their daily lives, including awareness of the risks of using the Internet for children and young people, and how to use Tigo Money, as a mobile electronic wallet, for their empowerment.
The project, in which TIGO will invest $ 112,000 from 2017 to 2020, has two main executors: El Salvador del Mundo Foundation (FUSALMO) and World Vision. With the support of FUSALMO, more than 35,000 mothers, heads of households and community leaders will be trained through Corporate Responsibility programs that TIGO is driving at a national level. The NGO World Vision will train 56,000 women from all over the country, starting in 2017 with 9 municipalities (San Julián, Guaymango, Jujutla, Acajutla, Caluco, Armenia, Tepetitán, San Francisco Menéndez and Soyapango) where they have presence with their programs. This initiative will also be supported with strategic business actions, such as increasing the penetration of Tigo Shop among women, a digital channel aimed to facilitate balance check and purchase of internet packages. As well, as increasing the penetration of smartphones among women.
The launching event of the initiative “Salvadorean women connected for development” along with the GSMA Connected Women Commitment took place in January 10th 2017 in the presence of government officials, the Sweedish Ambassador and some women who are participating in the training program. Read more here.
Tigo Guatemala
[heroimage image="/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cw10.png" text="Tigo Guatemala"]
As part of the GSMA’s Connected Women Commitment Initiative, Tigo Guatemala has committed to design strategies aiming to increase the proportion of women in their Mobile Internet customer base in Guatemala from 46% to 50% by 2020.
To reach this goal, Tigo works in partnership with SHEVA, an organization that is dedicated to teach girls and women on how to use the internet and mobile tools to improve their lives, this through three focus areas: entrepreneurship, education and personal growth. The initiative targets economically active women between the ages of 15 and 40.
“Women are a fundamental pillar for the development of societies. This type of initiative allows us to empower them and put technological tools at their disposal, in order to help them and their families have a better future.”
Melanie Reimers, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Tigo Guatemala
Read more about how the Tigo Guatemala and SHEVA partnership is empowering young women in this EduMe blog.
“Women play a significant role in the economies of the countries we operate in and we are dedicated to simplifying their lives giving them security and convenience. We want to enable them to manage and grow their businesses, it is for this reason that we are delighted to support the GSMA Connected Women programme“.
Diego Camberos, CEO
“Financial inclusion is engraved in our road map for 2016 and beyond and we know that for our businesses and communities to thrive, we must include women as they form close to 50% of the population. It’s for this reason that Tigo Tanzania has committed to increase the proportion of women in our mobile money customer base to 40% by 2020.”
Tigo Tanzania, Managing Director, Mr Simon Karikari
Vodafone Idea Limited
[heroimage image="/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Vodafone-Idea-Hero-Image3.png" text="Vodafone Idea Limited"]
As part of the GSMA’s Connected Women Commitment Initiative, Vodafone Idea Limited has committed to increase the proportion of women in their mobile money customer base and in their mobile internet customer base by 2020 in India.
Vodafone's Initiatives
India has over a billion mobile connections and almost half of the population is women. Yet, fewer than 18% of mobile subscribers are women. Furthermore, women in India are less likely than men to have access to a smartphone and most women use a feature phone or a basic phone.
Vodafone Sakhi, a first-of-its kind mobile-based safety service, is designed exclusively for women. A variety of features including Emergency Alerts, Emergency Balance and Private Number Recharge provide free safety measures through the mobile connection to women customers using Vodafone pre-paid and post-paid services across the country. It works on all types of mobile phones, even without any balance or mobile internet.
Empowering Women in India
Research in India has highlighted that safety is a huge concern for women. Vodafone Idea launched Sakhi to respond to women’s needs and enhance their agency. To date, Sakhi has reached millions of women across India. Analysis of customers data pre- and post-Sakhi adoption shows that, compared to non-subscribers, Sakhi subscribers have higher loyalty to Vodafone and higher average revenue per user.
[video youtube="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jq5WUPcLaKg"]
“Safety and security of women is a burning issue in this country and this makes for a very compelling case as to how we could look at using technology to secure the safety of women and empower them so they feel confident as they step out of their houses.”
- Avneesh Khosla, Operations Director - Marketing, Vodafone Idea Limited
Click here to download the Vodafone Sakhi case study.
