GSMA Signs £38 Million Funding Partnership With the Department of International Development

The GSMA today announced that it has signed a thirty-eight million-pound partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). The ‘Partnership for Inclusion, Innovation and Scale’ will provide funding for the GSMA’s Mobile for Development work on digital inclusion, digital identity, energy, water, sanitation and the reduction of the mobile gender gap. It will also include two new areas of focus: 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. “This project reinforces our commitment to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and using the power of technology to reduce global inequalities.”

Inclusion, Innovation and Scale

The partnership will unearth critical insights on the needs of the underserved and identify and invest in mobile-enabled innovations and business models which can drive inclusion at scale. New technologies and business models, such as mobile money and pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar energy, have been crucial to delivering socio-economic impact to the underserved. DFID, one of the world’s first donors to embrace digital technologies, has been at the forefront of these innovations. The GSMA’s Mobile for Development programme is experienced in bringing digital innovations to scale, by engaging the private sector, especially mobile operators and digital innovators.

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.

Mobile for Development

The GSMA’s Mobile for Development programme was established to drive innovation in digital technology to reduce inequalities in the world. In particular, the programme aims to deliver sustainable business and large-scale socio-economic impact for the underserved. The programme sits at the intersection of the mobile ecosystem and the development sector and provides unique research and insights, and in-market expertise that unites the mobile industry, tech innovators, governments and the development community.

For further information on the GSMA’s Mobile for Development team, please go to: https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/

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About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators and nearly 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

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