The GSMA recently signed a thirty-eight million-pound partnership with UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) for ‘Inclusion, Innovation and Scale.’
GSMA will use the funding for its Mobile for Development initiatives such as digital inclusion, digital identity, energy, water, sanitation and the reduction of the mobile gender gap as well as disability and climate.
“This landmark partnership with DFID reinforces the joint power and potential of the private and public sectors working together and ensures that we will continue our crucial role of stimulating digital innovation to deliver both sustainable business and large-scale socio-economic impact for the underserved,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA.
The partnership will meet the needs of the underserved and identify and invest in mobile-enabled innovations and business models which can drive inclusion such as mobile money and pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar energy, among others.
The new partnership builds on the GSMA’s long-standing relationship with DFID. Since 2013, over 20 million lives across 39 countries have been impacted, of which over 70% have been women.
The link-up has already impacted all 17 SDGs, in particular SDG 5 which focuses on Gender Equality, SDG 10 which focuses on Reduced Inequalities and SDG 7 which looks at Affordable and Clean Energy.
The GSMA’s Mobile for Development programme was established to drive innovation in digital technology to reduce inequalities in the world. Targeting the underserved, the programme combines both the mobile ecosystem and the development sector and brings together the mobile industry, tech innovators, governments and the development community.
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