Entrepreneurs receive new support to develop innovative mobile
technology to help tackle development challenges around the world
Previous funding through scheme has helped develop AI to provide
advice to farmers in remote areas
The programme brings the mobile industry and development
community together to boost livelihoods.
New UK funding for innovative mobile phone technology will help
change lives in the poorest countries around the world,
Development Minister will announce today.
Harnessing AI technology to provide real-time agricultural advice
to farmers in Nigeria and pay-as-you-go solar powered fridges are
just some of the ways UK-funded mobile technology is improving
livelihoods globally.
At a speech at the Mobile World Congress today, Minister Mitchell
will announce the UK is providing £37.3 million of new support
for the Mobile for Development Programme, to help more people
access mobile and digital technologies to find new opportunities
and boost their livelihoods.
The programme, which the UK funds in partnership with UK-based
mobile industry association GSMA and the private sector, has
already benefitted more than 94 million people and focuses on
women and girls, climate change mitigation, adaptation and
resilience and scaling up innovative solutions.
Minister for Development and Africa, said:
Mobile technology has the potential to revolutionise the lives of
the poor by helping tackle the effects of climate change,
creating jobs and boosting opportunities for women.
The Mobile for Development programme has already benefitted more
than 100 million people, and the UK’s new announcement aims to up
the ambition, reaching 110 million additional people, including
60 million women.
Together the worlds of development and mobile tech giants can be
a powerful force to unlock opportunities and prosperity, and
meet the UN Global Goals.
UK funding has previously helped scale up a digital hub in
Pakistan, BaKhabar Kissan (BKK), which provides accurate weather
forecasting data to farmers to help them make critical farming
decisions such as the timing of seed sowing, irrigation, and
fertilisation. With the help of this programme, BKK has almost
doubled users from 6.6 million to 12.4 million.
Another innovative business, Ensibuuko, is providing digital
skills training to help community savings groups in rural Uganda
keep up with the latest digital products and services where
previously they relied on paper record-keeping. Since gaining
funding, Ensibuuko has benefited over 236,000 members of rural
savings groups, 60% of whom are women, providing them with
digital skills training.
John Giusti, President of the GSMA Mobile for Development
Foundation, said:
For more than a decade, the FCDO and the GSMA Mobile for
Development Foundation have worked closely in partnership to
drive socio-economic and climate impact for the most underserved
populations through digital innovation, and to date our
partnership has improved the lives of more than 127 million
people.
Today’s renewal of our partnership will further amplify our joint
impact by leveraging the power of digital and emerging
technologies to support innovation, improve access to
opportunities for women, and tackle the effects of climate change
for the most
vulnerable.
With the increase in climate crises around the world, the need
for new solutions to help vulnerable countries adapt is growing
and mobile technology can make a big difference to people’s
lives.
At the Mobile World Congress, GSMA will announce the grantees for
its Climate Resilience and Adaptation Fund which is funded by the
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This fund is
designed to test and scale up new technology to combat the
effects of climate change in countries throughout Africa and
Asia.
Some of the projects being funded include one using AI-powered
satellite imagery to help smallholder farmers increase their
yields and another to reduce food waste via an online grocery
platform.
Notes to editors:
- The FCDO has partnered with the GSMA Mobile for Development
Foundation since 2013.
