The GSMA mWomen Programme has been recently launched as a public-private partnership between the global mobile industry and the international development community in an effort to bring the socio-economic benefits of mobile to women in developing markets around the world. The goal is to halve the gender gap from 300 million and bring the power of mobile to more than 150 million women within three years. The initiative was formally launched by GSMA’s CEO Rob Conway, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Cherie Blair of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.
The vision of the programme is that by increasing access to mobile connectivity and services, women living on less than $2 per day will achieve a greater sense of security, independence, economic opportunity and connection with the world outside their homes. This in turn will lead to greater empowerment and control over their lives and those of their families.
Among the companies that pledged support for mWomen we find such names as AT&T, Banglalink, Bharti Airtel, Cell C, Dialog, Digicel, IDEA Cellular, Maxis, Mobitel, Mobilink, MTN, Nokia, France Telecom/Orange, Orascom, Roshan, Safaricom, SMART, Telenor, Telefónica, Uninor and Vodafone.
In the same press release, GSMA also announced the “mWomen Base of the Pyramid Apps Challenge,” a Vodafone-sponsored challenge to “stimulate activity to meet the significant demand for innovative app design and to provide original and fresh customized app solutions targeted at the specific needs of women in developing countries.”
This is a two-tier competition with Tier 1 involving making an app for a feature phone and Tier 2 – a smartphone application. The winners, to be announced at the 2011 GSMA Mobile World Congress, compete for cash prizes, as well as access to a VC firm, and innovation and design company.