Mobile for Development Resources

The GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Fund aims to promote innovation in the use of mobile technology to address humanitarian challenges. The first round of the Fund focused on providing support to help to test or scale ...

Innovative Data for Urban Planning: The Opportunities and Challenges of Public-Private Data Partnerships

This report identifies challenges and enablers for data-sharing public-private partnerships (PPPs) that relate to the partnership engagement model, data and technology, regulation and ethics frameworks and evaluation and sustainability.

Using Mobile Technology to Improve Remittances to the Pacific

This report explores the landscape of cross-border remittances in a number of PICs. It draws on lessons from other regions to understand mobile technology's potential in promoting accessible and affordable remittances in the Pacific region.

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.

Using the GSMA Mobile Connectivity Index to drive digital inclusion: Guidelines for policymakers

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of the internet and the critical role of mobile technology, which is the primary way most people access the internet. Mobile internet is providing access to critical information, ...

Building and strengthening digital ecosystems in humanitarian contexts

This report draws on lessons from the GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme's Strategic Partnership portfolio. These lessons were identified in a detailed systematic review of over 150 pieces of evidence, 12 in-depth ...

Mobile Technology for Participatory Forest Management: Co-designing and testing prototypes in Kenya

In this report we explore how mobile devices and applications can be leveraged to strengthen participatory forest management (PFM) efforts in Kenya.

Isabelle Carboni presents the key findings of the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021

On Thursday 17 June, we launched the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021. At the virtual launch event, Isabelle Carboni, Insights Director of the Connected Women programme presented the the key ...

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

On Thursday 17 June, the GSMA Connected Women team launched the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021. At the virtual launch event, Claire Sibthorpe of the GSMA spoke with Vishakha Saigal from Jio ...

Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom

On Thursday 17 June, the GSMA Connected Women team launched the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021. At the virtual launch event, Claire Sibthorpe of the GSMA spoke with Peter Ndegwa from ...

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women

On Thursday 17 June, the GSMA Connected Women team launched the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021. At the virtual launch event, Mats Granryd of the GSMA spoke with Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka from ...

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

On Thursday 17 June, the GSMA Connected Women team launched the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021. At the virtual launch event, Claire Sibthorpe of the GSMA spoke with Doreen Bogdan-Martin ...

Webinar – COVID-19: Accelerating the use of digital agriculture

Check out our webinar for insights on trends in digital agriculture adoption during the pandemic and the challenges posed by COVID-19 for smallholder farmers.

The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021

This flagship report highlights how the mobile gender gap continues to improve in South Asia, but less so in other regions. It explores the key barriers preventing women’s equal access to mobile internet as well as the rise of women’s smartphone ownership.

Understanding people’s mobile digital skills needs

Acquiring digital skills, and mobile digital skills in particular, is critical for people in low- and middle-income countries to participate in a rapidly digitalising society. However, the GSMA’s The State of Mobile Internet ...

Connected Women Life Stories: Video Series

Videos

In this series, women from Africa and Asia share their stories through their mobile phones, describing how mobile internet or mobile money has transformed their lives - helping them with their work, studies or family life, particularly during COVID-19.

Developing guidelines for cash transfers in Somalia

In April 2020, the GSMA partnered with the Somalia Cash Working Group to commission this study on cash transfers in the three regions of Somalia: South-Central, Puntland and Somaliland. The overall aim is to improve the effectiveness, ...

Supporting Innovation in Digital Urban Services

This report first describes the opportunity to leverage a powerful digital ecosystem for improving lives, and the role that the GSMA plays to catalyse these solutions through our GSMA Innovation Fund. It then discusses ...

Accelerating mobile internet adoption: Policy considerations to bridge the digital divide in low- and middle-income countries

This report responds to the need to accelerate mobile internet adoption and use, which is the biggest challenge in bridging the digital divide. The report sets out a wide range of policy considerations and proposes a comprehensive ...

M4H Innovation Fund lessons and outcomes: Lumkani Fire Detection and Insurance

Building resilience through mobile-enabled solutions: Lessons from the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Fund

In September 2017, with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the GSMA launched the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Fund. The Fund aimed to catalyse partnerships that would deliver innovative, ...

COVID-19: Accelerating the use of digital agriculture

COVID-19 exposed the vulnerability of agricultural and food systems in LMICs. This report provides agritechs, MNOs, investors, and donors with insights into the adoption of digital agriculture and how to accelerate it in light of new challenges.

Inclusive Digital Agriculture: Making value chains work for farmers with disabilities

For the first time, this report provides evidence of the barriers facing farmers with disabilities in the agricultural value chain in LMICs and the opportunities to support disability inclusion in agriculture through digital tools.

Digital Dividends in Plastic Recycling

This report explores the specific benefits that plastics organisations in LMICs currently reap, or could eventually reap, from using digital tools or services or partnering with technology organisations.

Safaricom’s Maisha Ni Digital Campaign

This case study assesses the impact of the Maisha Ni Digital campaign on women’s adoption and use of mobile internet as well as the commercial benefits for Safaricom. It also provides key lessons learned and practical recommendations.

Access to Mobile Services and Proof of Identity 2021

The Access to Mobile Services and Proof of Identity research report series examines SIM registration policies globally and finds that certain underserved groups are significantly less likely to have a SIM card registered in their own name.

Webinar on demand:
Mobile money: Thriving in a year of global upheaval

This year’s State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money looks at how the industry has embraced disruption and built resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mobile money services across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the ...

The GSMA Mobile Money API as an enabler for Sustainable Development Goals

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.

GSMA Mobile Money API Compliance Verification Service brochure

The GSMA Mobile Money API Compliance Verification Service is designed to support mobile money providers and third-party service providers who wish to comply with the harmonised industry specification on best practice in design and security.

High Level Virtual Roundtable Recording: Achieving mobile-enabled digital inclusion in Bangladesh

In this GSMA National Dialogues high level virtual roundtable, panellists examined the findings of the latest report, ‘Achieving mobile-enabled digital inclusion in Bangladesh’ and discussed the barriers to digital inclusion in Bangladesh and the ...

Addressing the Mobile Gender Gap in Pakistan

Across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), mobile is the primary way most people access the internet, accounting for 85 per cent of total broadband connections. Despite the importance of mobile, the benefits are not shared ...

Scaling digital platforms through partnerships: The value of collaboration between mobile operators and digital platforms in emerging economies

Digital platforms, defined as technology-enabled business models that create value by facilitating exchanges between two or more interdependent groups, have the potential to transform emerging economies in Africa and Southeast Asia by ...

Commercially Sustainable Roles for Mobile Operators in Digital ID Ecosystems

Leveraging SIM registration and mobile money KYC (Know Your Customer) proof-of-identity compliance to accelerate digital inclusion

Digital Innovation for Climate-Resilient Agriculture

This report highlights the potential of digital services to strengthen the climate resilience of smallholder farmers, and focuses on how MNO assets - including rainfall observations from mobile networks - can be used to localise and scale these services.

Achieving mobile-enabled digital inclusion in Bangladesh

The internet and digital technology have played a key role in helping to drive economic growth and societal development in Bangladesh. Mobile, as the primary means of internet access and the principal form of digital technology use in ...

Profitability 2.0: Ecosystem-driven business modelling and the future of mobile money margins

This report demonstrates the case and timeliness for a transition to a more resilient ecosystem-centric profitability model through three stages and formulates key recommendations on opportunities and risk mitigation.

State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2021

When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in early 2020, it quickly became clear that mobile money would have a significant role to play in delivering vital financial support and providing safe, no-contact ways to pay for food, electricity ...

Digital Identity: Accelerating Financial Inclusion During a Crisis

Monday 22 Mar 2021 | Digital Identity | English | Report |

The impacts and opportunities of Know Your Customer (KYC) regulatory policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Assessing mobile money consumer trends in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

This report identifies key demand-side trends on general and COVID-19-specific mobile money awareness and adoption and usage levels, including its impact on the diversification of use cases, frequency of transactions and agent interactions.

Humanitarian cash and voucher assistance programmes in Ethiopia

This report, in partnership with the Collaborative Cash Delivery (CCD) Network, explores the context and capability of the mobile money ecosystem in Ethiopia.

Happy International Women’s Day from Mats Granryd

In a year where connectivity has become more vital than ever, this International Women's Day Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA, reflects on the increased importance of closing the mobile gender gap and urges us to take action. ...

Connected Women Life Stories: Trailer

Without access to mobile services, millions of women are being left behind. Mobile can help to empower women, making them feel safer and more connected, and providing them with access to life-enhancing services, often for the first ...

Photo Gallery: Connected Society Innovation Fund for Rural Connectivity – Build Phase

A selection of photos from the build phase of the Connected Society Innovation Fund for Rural Connectivity, supplied by the vendors.

The Role of Digital and Mobile-Enabled Solutions in Addressing Climate Change

Climate change is the most pressing challenge facing humankind. The world has already warmed by more than 1°C since pre-industrial times and the effects of this warming continue to worsen, profoundly affecting lives, ...

COVID-19 and digital humanitarian action: Trends, risks and the path forward

This report looks at how partners and grantees in the M4H portfolio have shifted or maintained their services in humanitarian contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how mobile network operators have engaged in this process.

Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation: Annual Report

This report documents the progress of the M4H programme and partners in 2020, highlighting the key trends impacting the humanitarian sector in this unprecedented year, and summarising the activities and outcomes of research, the M4H ...

Are the effects of mobile money regulation gender neutral?

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 ...

Artificial Intelligence and Start-Ups in Low- and Middle-Income Countries – Business models

In this video, we explore the common business models for AI start-ups in low- and middle-income countries. To understand the common business models for AI solutions, we examined three vital factors: Approach to monetisation, target consumer segments ...

Connected Women: Accelerating digital and financial inclusion for women

Mobile has the power to transform women’s lives. If the mobile gender gap is not addressed, women risk being left behind as societies and economies digitise. The GSMA Connected Women programme aims to reduce the gender gap in mobile ...

Health Systems, Digital Health and COVID-19: Insights from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Benin, Nigeria and Rwanda

This research unpacks the health systems and digital health solutions in six developing countries: Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Benin, Nigeria and Rwanda. This report expands on another GSMA report published in June 2020, Digital Health: A Health ...

Agritech innovation in Latin America: opportunities for smallholders

Videos

Watch this video to learn about the agritech ecosystem for smallholder farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean and the emerging opportunities in digital agriculture.

Renewable Energy for Mobile Towers

Tuesday 19 Jan 2021 | ClimateTech | Energy | Video |

In some low- and middle-income countries, mobile towers located off-grid or in areas with bad-grid connections, rely on diesel-powered generators that damage the environment. Watch this video to learn more about this challenge.

Artificial Intelligence and Start-Ups in Low- and Middle-Income Countries – Ethics and Barriers

AI enables new technologies that improve efficiency and productivity, but it may also lead to increased inequalities. There are many ethical questions about data protection, ingrained bias because of poor data collection methods, social inclusion and ...

Artificial Intelligence and Start-Ups in Low- and Middle-Income Countries – The Landscape

In 2020, the GSMA mapped 450 start-ups by sector in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and South Asia and Southeast Asia. In this video, we highlight some of the key findings on the ...

The Connectivity, Needs and Usage Assessment (CoNUA) Toolkit

To address the need for a more evidence-based approach which puts recipients of assistance at the centre, the GSMA partnered with REACH and the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster to produce the Connectivity, Needs and Usage Assessment (CoNUA) Toolkit.

How mobile money is scaling international remittances and fostering financial resilience: Learnings from Valyou Malaysia

Case study: In a three-year pilot between 2017 and 2020, mobile money provider Valyou trialled and expanded an app-based international remittance service tailored to migrant work.

Webinar on demand: Keeping Bangladesh connected: The role of the mobile industry during the COVID-19 pandemic

Connectivity has become not only essential but critical in these challenging times. Digital technology has stepped in to fill the gaps and is playing a crucial role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. In Bangladesh, mobile technology is helping people ...

Reimagining identity ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa with mobile

Mobile is increasingly becoming a powerful tool and a way of life in emerging economies. At the end of 2020, half a billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa subscribed to mobile services. This accounts for over 45% of the population. Thus, ...

Keeping Bangladesh connected: The role of the mobile industry during the COVID-19 pandemic

Connectivity has become not only essential, but critical in these challenging times. Digital technology has stepped in to fill the gaps and is playing a crucial role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. In Bangladesh, mobile technology ...

Panorama del ecosistema agrotecnológico para los pequeños agricultores de América Latina y el Caribe

Artificial Intelligence and Start-Ups in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Progress, Promise and Perils

Around the world, artificial intelligence (AI) is automating functions and making new services possible with breakthroughs in low-cost computing power, cloud computing services, growth in big data and advancements in machine learning and related processes.

The poverty reduction effects of mobile broadband in Africa: Evidence from Nigeria

The GSMA and the World Bank have developed a study to analyse the welfare impact of mobile broadband based on data from Nigeria, the largest mobile market and economy in Africa. The analysis shows that the deployment of mobile ...

Scaling Digital Solutions in the Water Sector – Lessons from CityTaps and Wonderkid

In Sub-Saharan Africa, just under 25 per cent of urban households have access to piped water. Inequalities in service provision mean that many people in low-income areas rely on informal service providers, and often pay more ...

Mobile money enabled cash assistance: User journeys in Burundi

This report applies a human-centred design approach that empathises with and understands the lived experiences of Concern Burundi’s CVA recipients who are receiving mobile money-enabled humanitarian aid.

Displacement and Connectivity in Latin America

In this session, the GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Rescue Committee explored the critical importance of access to mobile technology and essential information sharing among refugees...

AgriTech Trends in Latin America: Innovations Disrupting Smallholder Farming

In this session, we explored trends in digital disruption impacting smallholder farmers in Latin America. Regional practitioners and experts shared their experiences on the potential of digital interventions to address low farm productivity and lack of ...

The Mobile Disability Gap Report 2020

More than five billion people globally are mobile subscribers. As we move towards a more digital society, it is critical that digital technologies are inclusive of everyone, including persons with disabilities. However, research ...

Landscaping the agritech ecosystem for smallholder farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean

This landscape analysis of digital agriculture tools in Latin America and the Carribean highlights major trends and key opportunities for digital interventions that could deliver long-term, sustainable economic and social benefits for smallholder farmers.

Webinar on demand:
Understanding the State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2020

Almost half of the world’s population – 3.8 billion people – are using mobile internet. This continues to grow, with an additional 250 million people connecting for the first time in 2019. For many citizens, mobile is their only means of accessing the ...

Mobile money: Regional deep-dives in Africa, Asia and Latin America & the Caribbean

The global mobile money industry 2019 marked a major milestone for the mobile money industry: the number of registered mobile money accounts surpassed one billion. Reaching the one billion mark is a tremendous achievement for ...

New perspectives: How COVID-19 has shifted sustainability priorities in the mobile sector

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it an unprecedented human and economic crisis, affecting all corners of the world. As governments have grappled with responding to the rapidly evolving crisis, the role and expectations on private ...

Initiatives Taken by JazzCash to Reach Out to Females

Explore the initiatives taken by JazzCash to reach out to females.

Driving Digital Financial Inclusion through Female Agents

Brad Jones from Wave Money discusses driving digital financial inclusion through female agents.

Vodafone Sakhi: Voices of Impact from India

Hear how Vodafone Sakhi's features are helping women in India.

Empowering Women Through Mobile: Story from India

Learn how mobile is empowering women in India.

Opening the Doors to Digital Innovation and Inclusion for People with Disabilities

The current COVID19 pandemic response has disrupted and changed the ways in which societies operate. Yet people with disabilities, who may be particularly vulnerable in such disruptive times, are likely to be further isolated due to the inaccessibility ...

Digital Opportunities for MNOs: A Discussion with Jazz Pakistan

Watch our discussion with Jazz Pakistan about the potential digital opportunities for MNOs.

Driving Affordable Smart Farming through Partnerships

Learn more about driving affordable smart farming through partnerships.

Building Inclusive and Sustainable Cities through Digital Solutions

This session featured a range of different kinds of actors to discuss the opportunities and barriers for implementing digital solutions at scale. The session highlighted examples of how digital solutions are seeking to make energy, water, waste ...

The Value of Open APIs to Grow the Mobile Money Ecosystem

Mobile money continues to grow across Asia Pacific, having surpassed 473 million accounts in 2019. Ecosystem development remains a top priority for mobile money providers in the region. By providing easily accessible APIs, providers can enable seamless ...

Digitising Rural Asia: Transforming Agriculture with Agritech

We explored the opportunity to digitise the agricultural last mile in APAC. This session brought together regional practitioners and experts to discuss digital agriculture projects that bring efficiencies to farmers and agribusiness in the agricultural ...

The state of mobile money in Asia

Explore the state of the mobile money industry in Asia.

GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund: Insights from our Asia Pacific start-ups

The GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund has provided three rounds of funding to 34 start-ups across Africa and Asia Pacific. Their work covers multiple sectors, including HealthTech, CivicTech, EdTech and more and has delivered ...

Digital Literacy Training Guide

The purpose of this guide is to prepare mobile money agents and digital literacy change agents to educate people in their communities about the benefits of mobile money services and how to use them.

Artificial Intelligence and Start-Ups in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Progress, Promises and Perils

This study examines the current use of AI in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) across Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and South and Southeast Asia. The report mapped a sample of 450 start-ups by sector in alignment with the UN Sustainable ...

Connected Society: Delivering digital inclusion for all

Thursday 29 Oct 2020 | Connected Society | Global | Resource |

The GSMA Connected Society programme works with the mobile industry and key stakeholders to increase access to and adoption of mobile internet, focusing on underserved population groups in low and middle-income countries. The unconnected population is ...

Webinar on demand:
Education For All During COVID-19 and the Promise of EdTech

COVID-19 has exacerbated an already existing education crisis, where 260 million children and youth globally were unable to attend school before the pandemic. Nations worldwide have endeavoured to set up new education models that could augment ...

Introducing Digital Agriculture Maps: The state of the sector in 2020

In this video blog, Daniele Tricarico of the GSMA AgriTech programme presents

Using technology to build resilient health systems in a COVID-19 world

In this video, we discuss the important topic of digital technology in building resilient health systems in a COVID-19 world and showcase one of our Ecosystem Accelerator grantees called Kea Medicals, a start-up in the digital health space in Benin.

Erwan Gelebart, CEO, JazzCash

JazzCash initiatives to drive financial inclusion for women: In this interview we hear from Erwan Gelebart, CEO of JazzCash, who tells us why reaching out to women customers is so important. He also discusses how ...

Why are so many people still offline?

Across the world, four billion people remain offline. Of these, the vast majority – 3.4 billion people – already have access to mobile broadband. Most of the people who are covered but who are not using the internet are in Asia, while ...

Webinar on demand:
Beyond one billion: Exploring the state of mobile money in Africa

As part of Financial Inclusion Week, we hosted a webinar to deep dive into Africa’s core mobile money trends over the past year. Watch now to hear the team behind the State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2019 uncover the key findings.

Mobile money in the time of a crisis: Interview with the World Food Programme

As part of the Mobile Money Leadership Forum at GSMA Thrive Africa, we asked Enrica Porcari, Chief Information Officer at the World Food Programme, for her perspectives on the unique role of mobile money in humanitarian contexts during a crisis.

Mobile money in the time of a crisis: Interviews with Orange Money Senegal and Irembo

As part of the Mobile Money Leadership Forum at GSMA Thrive Africa, we spoke to Ramatoulaye A. Diallo, CEO of Orange Mobile Financial Services Senegal and Faith Keza, CEO of Irembo, about the unique role of mobile money during the COVID-19 crisis.

Interviews with MTN Group, KaiOs, GoPay and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Videos

Interviews with MTN Group, KaiOs, GoPay and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on the transformative potential of technological innovation, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital Utility Solutions for the Urban Poor

Africa and Asia are urbanising at an unprecedentedly rapid rate accounting for 90 per cent of the world’s urban population growth. The impact of this will be greatest on the urban poor, as the municipal services that are already under pressure are ....

Humanitarian Innovation in Africa: Focus on Resilience to Climate Change

Digital technology has the power to help improve the food security and climate change resilience of rural communities. With a spotlight on our Innovation Fund grantees and Strategic Partnerships projects, we demonstrated how and why this topic ...

Co-creating for Accessibility: Inclusive Methodologies for Humanitarian Contexts

This session introduced participants to human centred design principles and present research findings from recent research conducted in Nairobi. The goal was to both give practitioners the tools to inclusively engage end users in the design ...

The Future of Pay-as-you-go Partnerships