Mobile for Development Resources

The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2020

Almost half of the world’s population are now using mobile internet. This Connected Society flagship report provides a comprehensive overview of the trends in global connectivity to inform progress towards closing the coverage and usage gaps.

Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Podcast – Episode 9:
Adopting New Technologies

Resource

Thursday 10 Sep 2020 | Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation | Video |

In Episode 9, Jaki Mebur (Market Engagement Manager at GSMA), Hamse Koshin (MEAL Specialist at Care International Somalia and Somaliland) and Ali Bosir (Head of Business Development at Telesom Somaliland) ...

Webinar: Beyond one billion: Exploring Asia’s mobile money landscape

Video

Thursday 10 Sep 2020 |

Hear from the team behind the State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2019 to uncover the key findings of Asia’s mobile money landscape.

Videocast: The many paths to mobile money interoperability: Selecting the right model for your market

Video

A short videocast exploring the key findings and insights from the report 'There are many paths to mobile money interoperability: Selecting the right model for your market.'

QR Code Merchant Payments. A growth opportunity for mobile money providers

Document

QR code payments are enjoying significant but fragmented global growth, often competing with long-established payment methods, such as card payments. This report looks at some of the most successful schemes around the world and why they are successful.

Why is there a need for the GSMA Mobile Money API Specification? A comparison with other industry standards

Document

This paper examines the different approaches mobile money providers could potentially use to deliver open APIs, and outlines the findings of analysis undertaken on the scope of the existing API standards and APIs, and how they compare with the GSMA API.

Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Podcast – Episode 8:
Human-Centred Design

Video

In Episode 8, Zoe Hamilton (Insights Manager at GSMA), Mark Kamau (Head User Experience Designer at BRCK) and Aline Alonso (Design Researcher at Butterfly Works) discuss methodologies for inclusivity in humanitarian assistance. Specifically, the panel disc

Opportunities for digital assistive technology innovations in Africa and Asia

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Digital assistive technologies (ATs), particularly mobile-based ATs, have the potential to be a valuable and cost-effective tool for persons with disabilities. To realise this opportunity there is a need for locally relevant digital ...

The digital lives of refugees and Kenyans with disabilities in Nairobi: A human-centred design approach to identifying mobile-enabled opportunities

Document

This research focuses on disability, using human-centred design methods to better understand how refugees and Kenyans with visual and hearing impairments in Nairobi use mobile technology and potential opportunities that it could provide.

Human-centred design in humanitarian settings: Methodologies for inclusivity

Document

This report documents the human-centred design process used in a project conducted in 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya.

GSMA Mobile Internet Skills Training Toolkit: A guide for training people in basic mobile internet skills

Document

The GSMA Mobile Internet Skills Training Toolkit (MISTT) uses a ‘train the trainer’ approach to teach people basic mobile internet skills. The MISTT consists of short lessons in PDF format that can be easily adapted to local needs and languages.

The GSMA Mobile Money API: Building seamless integrations

Video

Hear from Bart-Jan Pors, Director of Inclusive Financial Technology, with the latest updates on the GSMA Mobile Money API, from the many benefits it brings, to our state-of-the-art developer tools, to how you ...

GSMA Connected Society: Life Stories from DRC and Bangladesh

Video

In this Connected Society Life Stories video we talk to locals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bangladesh and learn how they have been empowered by mobile.

Webinar on demand:
Top 10 recommendations for reaching women with mobile across low- and middle-income countries

Video

In this webinar, the lead author of Connected Women's flagship report, Reaching 50 Million Women with Mobile: A Practical Guide' shared the key insights of the report. Watch the recording to learn our top 10 recommendations for reaching women with mobile.

Financial inclusion for fishing communities through digital identity – Mobitel Sri Lanka

Video

The Mobile for Development Digital Identity programme has been supporting digital identity innovations to improve lives across Asia and Africa. Here, we’d like to share a mobile digital identity use case, of enabling financial ...

Are the mobile industry and pay-as-you-go solar companies obvious allies?

Video

The PAYG solar model has spread rapidly across developing countries as a means of delivering energy services. Our study has demonstrated that PAYG helps mobile operators achieve more value from subscribers that might have previously ...

The Digital Exclusion of Women with Disabilities: A Study of Seven Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Document

Edit: This version of the report was revised and uploaded on 20 August 2020. Figure 2 has been corrected in the new version. Mobile has incredible potential to transform lives and empower people by providing a ...

Supporting the Growth of the Tech Start-Up Ecosystem in Uganda:
A Policy Outlook

Document

Mobile has superseded other communication methods to become the primary form of connectivity in Uganda. Across Uganda, start-ups are seizing the opportunity provided by mobile technology to offer fresh thinking and potential solutions ...

Fostering innovation in the Pacific – Seedstars, the GSMA and the Australian Government

Video

Seedstars, in partnership with the GSMA, supported by the Australian Government, ran three events in the Asia Pacific region. These were aimed at fostering innovation by bringing start-ups from Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa ...

Partnering During Crisis: Executive summary and JazzCash Pakistan case study, in Urdu / بحرانوں کے دوران شراکت داری: مختصر خلاصہ اور جاز اور جاز کیش، پاکستان کیس سٹڈی

Document

بحرانوں کے دوران شراکت داری: مختصر خلاصہ اور جاز اور جاز کیش، پاکستان کیس سٹڈی

Webinar on demand:
Innovating During Crisis – COVID-19 and Digital Civic Services in Developing Countries

Video

In this live online panel discussion, we discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the CivicTech start-up portfolio within the GSMA Innovation Fund.

Celebrating the success and evolution of mobile operator and start-up collaboration for impact and scale

Video

The Ecosystem Accelerator programme was launched in early 2016 with the ambition of helping bridge the gap between start-ups and mobile operators, demonstrating that – with the right level of support – innovation can help address local ...

Mobile Money: Driving formalisation and building the resilience of MSMEs

Document

Explore how mobile money can help informal MSMEs access financial services and overcome some of the barriers to entering the formal economy and, in turn, boost productivity, job creation and economic growth.

Celebrating the success and evolution of digital utility services

Video

The Mobile for Development Utilities programme has been supporting innovation to improve utility services across Asia and Africa for the last seven years. We’d like to share with you the impact that the start-ups of the Mobile for ...

Partnering During Crisis: Executive summary and Jawwal/Paltel Group case study, in Arabic / الشراكة أثناء الأزمات: ملخّص تنفيذي و مجموعة جوّال/بالتل , فلسطين دراسة الحالة

Document

الشراكة أثناء الأزمات: ملخّص تنفيذي و مجموعة جوّال/بالتل , فلسطين دراسة الحالة

Innovating During Crisis: COVID-19 and Digital Education in Developing Countries

Video

COVID-19 has closed schools for millions of students worldwide, and the pandemic disproportionately threatens developing countries - not only as a health crisis but also as a devastating social and economic crisis. The UN recently ...

Webinar on demand:
Digital Health – Building resilient health systems in a COVID-19 world

Video

Tuesday 23 Jun 2020 | Mobile for Development | Video | Webinar |

In late 2019, the first COVID-19 outbreak appeared in Wuhan, China. Since then, COVID-19 has had severe health and economic consequences and exposed the fragility of global health systems. The ubiquity of Digital Health in the response to COVID-19 has quic

The causes and consequences of mobile money taxation: An examination of mobile money transaction taxes in sub-Saharan Africa

Document

A fresh look at the subject of mobile money taxation in sub-Saharan Africa, through the lens of taxation and development. We look at what the motivating forces are for these taxes and identify some of the unintended consequences.

GSMA Innovation Fund for Rural Connectivity – An Interview with the CEO of MTN Uganda

Video

The GSMA Connected Society programme spoke with Wim Vanhelleputte, CEO of MTN Uganda, about the GSMA Innovation Fund for Rural Connectivity. Wim ...

Tracking the journey towards mobile money interoperability: Emerging evidence from six markets: Tanzania, Pakistan, Madagascar, Ghana, Jordan and Uganda

Document

This report features the interoperability journeys and lessons of six countries: Tanzania, Pakistan, Madagascar, Ghana, Jordan and Uganda.

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

Video

Hear from the author of the State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2019 and understand the key trends and insights beyond the data.

Many paths to mobile money interoperability: Selecting the right technical model for your market

Document

This report presents four technical models for interoperability in mobile money markets and includes a framework for selecting the right one.

Partnering During Crisis: Executive summary and Vodacom Mozambique case study, in Portuguese / Parceria Durante uma Crise: Sumário executivo e Vodacom, Moçambique estudo de caso

Document

Parceria Durante uma Crise: Sumário executivo e Vodacom, Moçambique estudo de caso

Digital Health:
A health system strengthening tool for developing countries

Document

Monday 8 Jun 2020 | Central Insights | Report |

Digital solutions have proven to be excellent tools to address systemic challenges, particularly by enabling communication within and between various parts of the healthcare value chain. Our research highlights tangible examples of digital health and digit

(Videocast) Mobile money API industry report: Towards seamless integrations

Video

The seamless integration of third-parties with mobile money platforms is a key catalyst to achieving wider access to critical products by the underserved. Third-parties’ ability to integrate with mobile money platforms is also a first ...

MTN MoMo Pay Merchant Payments: Expanding Female Mobile Money Usage in Ghana

Document

In Ghana, mobile money has opened access to financial services for millions of people for the first time, strengthening the payment ecosystem and deepening financial inclusion. To encourage the digitisation of merchant payments in ...

Digital Dividends in Natural Resource Management

Document

The GSMA CleanTech programme has conducted new research to explore the "digital dividends" of various types of technology on natural resource management in low- and middle-income countries.

Agricultural insurance for smallholder farmers: Digital innovations for scale

Document

Using primary and secondary research, we explore how mobile technology can drive the adoption of index insurance to develop smallholder farmer resilience. Our recommendations show how index insurance services can grow through bundling and partnerships.

Innovating During Crisis: COVID-19 and Digital Health in Developing Countries

Video

While COVID-19 is magnifying the weaknesses of existing health systems globally, the pandemic disproportionately threatens developing countries, not only as a health crisis but also as a devastating social and economic crisis In ...

Partnering During Crisis: Executive summary and Zain Cash Iraq case study, in Arabic / الشراكة أثناء األزمات: ملخصتنفيذي و زين كاش ,العراق دراسة الحالة

Document

الشراكة أثناء األزمات: ملخصتنفيذي و زين كاش ,العراق دراسة الحالة

Électricité de Madagascar – Enabling Access to Electricity through Mobile-enabled Rural Mini-Grids

Document

In May 2018, the Mobile for Development (M4D) Utilities Programme awarded EDM a grant to test the commercial viability of providing electricity to off-grid villages in northern Madagascar. EDM constructed solar-hybrid mini-grids in ...

What is e-waste?

Document

With 50 million tonnes of e-waste being produced annually, it is the fastest growing waste stream in the world (PACE, 2019). E-waste poses environmental and health risks if treated inadequately. Therefore, better management of ...

Webinar on Demand: Understanding the Mobile Gender Gap in 2020

Video

How is the mobile gender gap evolving in the Global South? What are the factors that prevent women’s equal mobile ownership and internet use in 2020? And how are men and women’s use of mobile changing as smartphone ownership grows?

Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation: Annual Report

Document

This report shares some of the 2019 highlights and the progress made from the work of M4H and their partners.

The Value of Pay-as-you-go Solar for Mobile Operators

Document

This study aims to measure the underlying value that exists in these partnerships for mobile operators by analysing PAYG clients data from five different countries (Uganda, Rwanda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Zambia) over a 12 month period.

Partnering During Crisis: The Shared Value of Partnerships between Mobile Network Operators and Humanitarian Organisations

Documents

This research aims to provide evidence to help MNOs make informed decisions about engaging in partnerships with humanitarian organisations, and to help humanitarian actors better understand their MNO partners and build successful long-term partnerships.

Mobile money recommendations to central banks in response to COVID-19

Document

Examines the impacts of COVID-19 on mobile money business and provides broad recommendations that could be taken to ensure business continuity and sustainability.

GSMA Digital Identity Programme: Insights and Achievements (2016–2020)

Document

Exploring the role of mobile platforms, conducive policies and business models in strengthening digital identity ecosystems.

AgriTech in Nigeria: Investment opportunities and challenges

Document

This report offers a landscape of the evolution of agritech investment in Nigeria, and the role played by different investors in the growth of the sector. It highlights investment trends and identifies possible opportunities for sector growth.

Ecosystem Accelerator Compass: Insights on Start-ups and Mobile in Emerging Markets, Issue 7

Document

We’d like to present the newest issue in our updated quarterly publication — the Ecosystem Accelerator Compass. This publication helps our stakeholders navigate the world of start-ups and mobile technology in emerging markets. The ...

The GSMA Instant Payment Notification (IPN) Hub: Impact and insights from inception to industry transition

Document

We are pleased to announce the publication of the GSMA Instant Payment Notification (IPN) Hub case study where we explore its impact and our insights since it was piloted in Rwanda in December 2016 until its ongoing transition to the industry.

Highlighting the value of mobile in digital identification systems

Video

In order to access basic life enhancing services such as education, financial and healthcare services, it is imperative for people to prove they are who they claim to be. The GSMA Digital Identity programme is playing a key role in ...

Opportunities for Improving Digital Identification in Social Cash Transfer Programmes through Mobile

Document

Some populations experience higher levels of exclusion from social safety net programmes. In many cases, this is due to challenges related to enroling, identifying and communicating with beneficiaries.

Sehat Kahani: Improving women’s healthcare experience in Pakistan

Document

Sehat Kahani ('Story of Health') is a digital health start-up in Pakistan that is democratising healthcare by connecting home-based female doctors with communities where access to quality healthcare is limited. We spoke to users and ...

Reaching 50 Million Women with Mobile: A Practical Guide

Document

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.

Mitigating common fraud risks: Best practices for the mobile money industry

Document

As mobile money ecosystems evolve, new fraud risks have surfaced. This paper looks at fraud typologies that significantly impact mobile money users and recommends approaches that can be used to mitigate the risks.

GSMA Connected Society Innovation Fund for Rural Connectivity: The Winners

Video

Rural coverage innovators iSAT Africa and NuRAN Wireless have been awarded up to £330,000 each for implementing turnkey solutions to suit challenging rural environments with low population density, difficult terrain, and/or limited infrastructure.

Demystifying regulatory concerns for the use of cloud services in mobile money

Document

Cloud services offer a number of benefits to organisations such as economies of scale, flexibility, operational efficiencies and cost-effectiveness. Globally, players in the financial services industry are now adapting their business ...

The GSMA AgriTech Toolkit for the digitisation of agricultural value chains

Document

The Toolkit for the Digitisation of Agricultural Value Chains is a collection of resources that illustrate how digital technologies can address pain points for farmers and value chain actors, such as agribusinesses and cooperatives, in ...

Advancing digital inclusion for persons with disabilities – about the Assistive Tech programme

Document

The GSMA Assistive Tech programme is working towards driving greater access and use of mobile technologies for persons with disabilities in emerging markets and to maximise opportunities for social and economic inclusion.

Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020 Methodology

Document

This document describes the analysis and modelling undertaken for The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020 as well as highlighting key areas of methodological change year-on-year.

Accelerating Digital Inclusion for People Experiencing Homelessness: A spotlight on San Francisco

Document

Our latest research uncovers mobile technology solutions helping to achieve positive outcomes for individuals experiencing homelessness in the United States.

Mobile money API industry report: Towards seamless integrations

Document

Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Podcast – Episode 7: Two Years of the Programme

Video

Thursday 26 Mar 2020 | Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation | Video |

In Episode 7, Jenny Caswell (Acting Research & Insights Director, at GSMA), Peter Batali (Executive Director at CTEN) and John Warnes (Innovation Officer on Connectivity for Refugees at UNHCR) reflect on the past two years of ...

Mobile Money Regulatory Index 2019

Document

The Mobile Money Regulatory Index assesses the extent to which countries’ regulatory frameworks enable widespread mobile money adoption and usage. This report accompanies the first update of the GSMA Mobile Mobiley Regulatory Index tool.

State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2019

Documents

This year’s report examines what one billion registered accounts signify for the mobile money industry, mobile money users and the future of the mobile money ecosystem; moving us a step closer to a digital future for all.

Building a Resilient Industry: How Mobile Network Operators Prepare for and Respond to Natural Disasters

Document

An interactive guide for mobile network operators based on experiences with the Humanitarian Connectivity Charter

Mobile Money Live Learning in Indonesia

Video

We brought together leaders from Africa and Asia to learn from Indonesia's digital platforms. See what we got up to and hear from industry stakeholders on what they learned on the trip when meeting with leading platform ...

GSMA Connected Women: Life Stories from Uganda and India

Video

Meet Samidha and Nache, two women from India and Uganda who have been empowered by mobile and have used mobile internet and mobile money to improve their lives. Hear their stories.

Empowering Women Through Mobile: Nache’s Story

Video

Nache is from a rural village in Uganda and faced considerable challenges in accessing the resources she needed for an education. Learn how she uses mobile to empower herself and access life changing opportunities, enabling her to start her own business.

Empowering Women Through Mobile: Samidha’s Story

Video

Samidha is from Pugaon village, India. She plays a vital role in her family in taking care of her 5 year old nephew who cannot speak or walk. Learn how Samidha uses mobile to help herself and her family to improve their day-to-day lives.

Safaricom Maisha Ni Digital: Driving Digital Inclusion for Women

Video

In Kenya, women are 34% less likely than men to use mobile internet, and as a result receive fewer life-changing benefits of connectivity. To close this gender gap, Safaricom launched the Maisha Ni Digital ('Life is Digital') campaign.

Digitising billing and meter reading for water utilities – Wonderkid

Video

In May 2015, the GSMA Mobile for Development Utilities Innovation Fund awarded a grant to Wonderkid to help it develop a suite of mobile tools for four water utilities in Kenya. The grant supported a complaint management and tracking ...

Celebrating 10 Years of The GSMA Connected Women Programme

Video

2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the Connected Women programme. In this video, we celebrate the progress and achievements that have been made so far by our programme and partners, to accelerate digital and financial inclusion for women.

How to become GSMA Mobile Money Certified

Videos

The GSMA Mobile Money Certification Lead, Munir Bello, walks through the five-step process on how to become certified. Learn more: www.gsma.com/mmc

Access to Mobile Services and Proof of Identity

Document

The ability to prove one’s identity is essential to securing both rights and access to a number of life-enhancing services including healthcare, voting, education, financial services, employment and social protections. As we continue...

Digital Solutions for the Urban Poor

Document

Two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050, with most urban growth concentrated in Africa and Asia. This poses challenges to basic service provision but mobile-enabled innovations may provide solutions.

Improving the mobile customer journey for persons with disabilities

Video

As users of mobile products and services, persons with disabilities experience their mobile phone in different ways to non-disabled users. To ideate solutions that can help close the mobile disability gap and support usage, customer ...

How to join the GSMA Inclusive Tech Lab

Video

Do you have a brilliant idea that could transform the lives of millions of people in developing countries? Apply to the GSMA Inclusive Tech Lab in five simple steps.

Mobile for Development brochure 2020

Document

GSMA Mobile for Development has recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Ten years in which we have grown from a simple but powerful idea to a global team of 130 and a portfolio of projects that have now impacted ...

The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020

Document

The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2020 examines how the mobile gender gap is changing quickly in low- and middle-income countries, revealing how the main factors preventing women's equal mobile ownership and internet use are evolving over time.

Working towards SDG 6 through water ATMs in Bangladesh – Drinkwell

Video

In October 2017, the GSMA Mobile for Development Utilities Innovation Fund awarded a grant to Drinkwell, in partnership with Dhaka Water Supply & Sewerage Authority (DWASA) and mobile operator Robi Axiata, to operate water ATMs in ...

Proportionate regulation in Uganda: A gateway for refugees accessing mobile services in their own name

Document

This case study examines how adopting a proportionate regulatory policy led to the activation of SIM-enabled services by MNOs and the impact this has had on the lives of refugees in Uganda.

Connected Society: An Overview for Policymakers

Document

Policymakers have a key role to play in accelerating digital inclusion. In this Connected Society overview, read our top recommendations for how policymakers can close the coverage gap and how they can address the top 5 barriers to mobile internet usage.

Digital credit scoring for farmers: Opportunities for agritech companies in Myanmar

Document

This report shares early lessons from using digital agritech data for farmer credit scoring in Myanmar. It examines the role of agritech companies in promoting farmer financial inclusion and identifies monetisation models to unlock new sources of value.

GSMA Connected Society Overview

Video

The GSMA Connected Society programme is committed to supporting stakeholders and working to address challenges related to global connectivity, with a focus on underserved communities in developing markets.

Présentation du Programme Connected Society de la GSMA

Video

Regardez cette courte vidéo pour un aperçu des initiatives du programme, ainsi que des solutions suggérées et des rôles que les parties prenantes doivent jouer pour faire progresser la connectivité mobile.

Presentación del programa Connected Society de la GSMA

Video

El programa Connected Society de GSMA se compromete a apoyar a las partes interesadas y a trabajar para afrontar los desafíos relacionados con la conectividad, centrándose en las comunidades marginadas en los mercados en desarrollo a nivel mundial.

Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Podcast – Episode 6: Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)

Video

Wednesday 19 Feb 2020 | Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation | Video |

In Episode 6, Matthew Downer (Insights Manager, Monitoring & Evaluation at GSMA) and Lydia Tanner (Director at The Research People) discuss Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) in reference to digital innovations in the ...

A Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Framework for Humanitarian Innovation Programmes

Document

This report outlines the key elements of the MEL framework. It is unique in its approach and it is hoped that other organisations may benefit from using the thinking to adapt their own approach to generate evidence regarding humanitarian innovation.

The GSMA Innovation Fund for Digitisation of Agricultural Value Chains

Document

Wednesday 12 Feb 2020 | Closed Innovation Funds |

The GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation Fund

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Wednesday 12 Feb 2020 | Closed Innovation Funds |

Mobile for Development Utilities – Innovation Fund

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Wednesday 12 Feb 2020 | Closed Innovation Funds |

Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund

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Wednesday 12 Feb 2020 | Closed Innovation Funds |

Connected Society Innovation Fund

Document

Wednesday 12 Feb 2020 | Closed Innovation Funds | Open and Upcoming Innovation Funds |

Using mobile money to bring clean water to rural Ghana – Safe Water Network

Video

In September 2015, Safe Water Network received a grant from the GSMA Mobile for Development Utilities Innovation Fund to develop an app to digitise its manual water station data reporting systems for 37 water stations. In May 2018, ...

Powering Youth Employment through the Mobile Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2025

Document

Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest growing youth population in the world. This increasingly educated but inadequately skilled workforce poses a challenge for economies that must not only generate more jobs, but also support youth in their employment journe

Improving electricity grid services through smart metering – Jazz

Video

In May 2018, Jazz received a grant from the GSMA Mobile for Development Utilities Innovation Fund to develop and implement mobile-enabled theft prevention and a system loss reduction solution for a mainstream grid distributor. Jazz, ...

Digitising payments in agricultural value chains: The revenue opportunity to 2025

Document

Exploring the potential revenue opportunity of digitising agricultural payments, this report examines both B2P & G2P payments as entry points for mobile money providers and how these will improve smallholder financial inclusion.

Harriet Lwakatare, Customer Services Director, Vodacom Tanzania

Video

The GSMA Connected Women team met with Harriet Lwakatare, Customer Services Director of Vodacom Tanzania, who spoke about the importance of financial inclusion for women. In this short interview, Harriet also addresses the primary ...

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