{"id":23223,"date":"2025-01-30T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?p=23223"},"modified":"2025-01-30T09:02:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T09:02:26","slug":"empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering AI Innovations to Transform Lives: GSMA Launches New Innovation Fund for Startups\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>The GSMA Innovation Fund is offering grants of up to \u00a3250,000 and tailored venture-building support for enterprises using AI and emerging technologies to create transformative change<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>30 January 2025, London<\/strong>: The GSMA, in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office (FCDO) has launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/mobile-for-development\/gsma-innovation-fund\/the-gsma-innovation-fund-for-impactful-ai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the <strong>GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI<\/strong><\/a><strong>,<\/strong> to empower small and growing enterprises in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. This initiative seeks to address a critical global challenge: ensuring LMICs are not left behind in the AI revolution and can harness emerging and mobile technologies to drive inclusive and sustainable development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Applications for the Fund, which opened on 29 January 2025, recognise the untapped potential of AI and emerging technologies in LMICs. The goal is to harness these tools to create inclusive and sustainable solutions tailored to the unique needs of these communities, fostering resilience and driving meaningful impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Driving Change Through Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI is designed to:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Empower Impactful Solutions<\/strong>: Grants ranging from \u00a3100,000 to \u00a3250,000 will be provided over a 15- to 18-month period, enabling enterprises to test and scale solutions that address critical challenges.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Accelerate Growth<\/strong>: Tailored support will help enterprises build partnerships with mobile network operators, attract investors, and develop scalable business models.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Foster Capacity Building<\/strong>: Beneficiaries will gain access to bootcamps, learning exchanges, and global industry events such as MWC to build their technical and operational expertise.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Enhance Impact Measurement<\/strong>: Enterprises will receive support to monitor and report the socio-economic and climate impacts of their innovations.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>While technologies like AI, IoT, and mobile big data are gaining traction globally, their application in LMICs remains limited. This Fund aims to close this gap by:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul>\n<li>De-risking innovation: Supporting cutting-edge solutions designed to benefit low-income and vulnerable communities.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Strengthening resilience: Ensuring the sustainability and scalability of AI-driven solutions through local partnerships.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Raising awareness: Showcasing the transformative potential of AI to create lasting change in LMICs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Targeting Diverse Local Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Fund targets LMICs in Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific regions, seeking to support AI-driven innovations across a broad range of sectors. By addressing diverse local challenges, we aim to enable impactful solutions that drive socio-economic development and climate resilience. Examples of potential areas of impact include (but are not limited to) healthcare, education, financial services, and climate change adaptation. Projects will need to:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul>\n<li>Leverage <strong>AI innovations<\/strong> (e.g., predictive and generative AI) to deliver scalable and positive socio-economic or climate impacts.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Utilise <strong>emerging technologies<\/strong> such as IoT, blockchain, or mobile big data&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Directly benefit <strong>low-income and vulnerable communities.<\/strong> &nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Show clear pathways to sustainability and scalability through strong local partnerships and ecosystem engagement.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A Vision for Local Leadership and Inclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Fund prioritises enterprises that are female-founded or female-led and actively address gender inequities. By supporting locally led organisations, the initiative also aims to build regional capacity, foster leadership, and deliver impactful, community-driven outcomes. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Applications Now Open<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Applications are open until <strong>19 March 2025, 23:59 GMT<\/strong>. Full eligibility criteria and application details can be found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/mobile-for-development\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/The-GSMA-Innovation-Fund-for-Impactful-AI-TCs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>GSMA\u2019s Head of Mobile for Development, Max Cuvellier Giacomelli<\/strong>, said:<strong>\u202f<em>\u201c<\/em><\/strong><em>AI and emerging technologies have immense potential to tackle global challenges, but much of their development has focused on advanced markets, leaving a gap in the solutions designed for and by communities in LMICs. The GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI seeks to change this by empowering enterprises in these regions to harness AI for transformative, inclusive, and sustainable development where it is needed most.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>-END-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About GSMA<\/strong><br \/>The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today\u2019s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world\u2019s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We invite you to find out more at\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gsma.com<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The GSMA Innovation Fund is offering grants of up to \u00a3250,000 and tailored venture-building support for enterprises using AI and emerging technologies to create transformative change 30 January 2025, London: The GSMA, in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office (FCDO) has launched the GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI, to empower small [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":23225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"algolia_discover_state":[6602],"algolia_discover_topic":[6605],"algolia_discover_region":[6644,6620,6623,6624],"algolia_discover_type":[6630],"algolia_discover_series":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.0 (Yoast SEO v22.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Empowering AI Innovations to Transform Lives: GSMA Launches New Innovation Fund for Startups\u00a0 - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Empowering AI Innovations to Transform Lives: GSMA Launches New Innovation Fund for Startups\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The GSMA Innovation Fund is offering grants of up to \u00a3250,000 and tailored venture-building support for enterprises using AI and emerging technologies to create transformative change 30 January 2025, London: The GSMA, in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office (FCDO) has launched the GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI, to empower small [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-30T09:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-30T09:02:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Impactful_AI_Feature_Image_800x400-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cgill@gsma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GSMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GSMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cgill@gsma.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Empowering AI Innovations to Transform Lives: GSMA Launches New Innovation Fund for Startups\u00a0 - Newsroom","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Empowering AI Innovations to Transform Lives: GSMA Launches New Innovation Fund for Startups\u00a0","og_description":"The GSMA Innovation Fund is offering grants of up to \u00a3250,000 and tailored venture-building support for enterprises using AI and emerging technologies to create transformative change 30 January 2025, London: The GSMA, in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office (FCDO) has launched the GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI, to empower small [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/","article_published_time":"2025-01-30T09:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-30T09:02:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Impactful_AI_Feature_Image_800x400-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cgill@gsma.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GSMA","twitter_site":"@GSMA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cgill@gsma.com","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/"},"author":{"name":"cgill@gsma.com","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/550036a9184b58b259257a930cdccfb6"},"headline":"Empowering AI Innovations to Transform Lives: GSMA Launches New Innovation Fund for Startups\u00a0","datePublished":"2025-01-30T09:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-30T09:02:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/"},"wordCount":729,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Impactful_AI_Feature_Image_800x400-1.jpg","articleSection":["Press Release"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/","name":"Empowering AI Innovations to Transform Lives: GSMA Launches New Innovation Fund for Startups\u00a0 - Newsroom","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Impactful_AI_Feature_Image_800x400-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-30T09:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-30T09:02:26+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Impactful_AI_Feature_Image_800x400-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Impactful_AI_Feature_Image_800x400-1.jpg","width":800,"height":400,"caption":"Text image featuring a stylized, abstract background with faint lines and curves. Bold red text reads, \"The GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI.\" Bottom right corner displays the UK flag with text beside it: \"UK International Development. Partnership | Progress | Prosperity."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/empowering-ai-innovations-to-transform-lives-gsma-launches-new-innovation-fund-for-startups\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Empowering AI Innovations to Transform Lives: GSMA Launches New Innovation Fund for Startups\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#organization","name":"GSMA","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GSMA_logo_colour_web.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/GSMA_logo_colour_web.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"GSMA"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gsma\/","https:\/\/x.com\/GSMA","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gsmaonline\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/12380","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GSMAOnline"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/550036a9184b58b259257a930cdccfb6","name":"cgill@gsma.com"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Impactful_AI_Feature_Image_800x400-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Impactful_AI_Feature_Image_800x400-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23223"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23223"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23227,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23223\/revisions\/23227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23223"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_state?post=23223"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_topic?post=23223"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_region?post=23223"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_type?post=23223"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_series?post=23223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}