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                                 In this issue:

Funding for innovation for women's empowerment in South Asia
How to increase women's digital financial inclusion in Bangladesh

 
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Gender and Mobiles Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 5
Note from the editors
 
This month's issue has a lot of stories coming out of Bangladesh in particular. This isn't particularly surprising, for two reasons: firstly, our editor Alex spent many years living and working on gender and mobile issues in Bangladesh, and always has one foot (and a heart) in Dhaka.  Secondly, although Bangladesh has one of the world's largest digital gender gaps (men are twice as likely to own a mobile phone as women, according to the ITU), there is also a huge opportunity to work towards closing it, with a very active civil society, a lot of interest in female empowerment, and a burgeoning start-up culture in Dhaka that is keen to use technology and innovation to address social issues.

There are so many great projects and ideas in Bangladesh that just need a bit more support to get going. Which is why we're particularly excited about the SPRING Accelerator, which is offering funding and support to South Asian businesses (Bangladeshi ones included) that use innovation to improve the lives of women and girls.

Know of any other new funding opportunities for ideas that use technology to reach more women and girls? Tweet us (@ronda_zg or @alex_tyers), and feel free to send us in stories of your own for the next newsletter!

Like our content? Please share our newsletter and encourage others to sign up to receive our non-spammy emails every two months! Thank you!

- Ronda and Alex

SPRING Accelerator: funding to empower women and girls through innovation in South Asia

The SPRING Accelerator is offering funding and mentoring support for businesses in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal or Pakistan that are using innovation – including ICT – to empower women and girls.

Selected businesses receive nine months of world-class technical expertise, including Human-Centred Design Boot Camps, investment-readiness support and mentorship. 

Apply now – the deadline is 1st November 2017.

Find out more!
 

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Maya Apa video: using mobile to answer Bangladeshi girls' questions

We're big fans of Maya Apa, and love this new video from the Maya Apa team and Facebook Free Basics . It shows how Maya is using technology to reach Bangladesh's hard-to-reach girls, and give them opportunities to seek advice as well as a safe space to ask questions about topics such as menstruation, contraception, sexual and mental health.

Watch the short video here.

 
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UN Women launches Global Innovation Coalition for Change

Last month, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka announced a new multi-stakeholder initiative to focus resources and efforts to advance innovations that will help meet women's and girls' needs. The Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC) aims to "build market awareness" where gaps exist for products and services created by female entrepreneurs that could enhance the lives of women and girls traditionally excluded from such opportunities.

Partners include MIT Solve, SAP, South 32, Statoil, the Ellevate Network, CISCO and DELL.

Read more here. A background paper on the factors that spurred this initiative can be accessed in English here.

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How to increase women's digital financial inclusion in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, only 28% of women have access to a formal bank account, and despite the promise of mobile money with providers such as bKASH, there is a gender gap in mobile money access and use.

This new guide from our friends at mSTAR looks at some of the barriers women in Bangladesh face with accessing financial services, and how organizations can address these issues through design, deployment and education.

Read the guide here.

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Have an mHealth service? Here's how to make sure it reaches women too 

Last month saw the release of a new toolkit and accompanying webinar on how to make an mHealth service more inclusive and reach more women. It's published by GSMA mHealth and authored by Alex Tyers, one of our editors.

The webinar and the toolkit explore some practical things that mobile operators, service providers and NGOs can do to ensure that their mHealth service includes women as well as men. Topics covered include the business case for including women, content, platforms, user testing, pricing, marketing and promotion and monitoring and evaluation.

Read more.
 

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Paralegals in India use SMS for justice
 
Nazdeek, a charity, has partnered with the International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination for a mobile solution to support women in India who have been denied basic entitlements. Women in slums are trained as paralegals to implement SMS for Justice, using SMS to inform Nazdeek about benefits women are being denied. Nazdeek then works with local governments to address grievances.
 
Read more here.
Women in Africa are as tech savvy as men
 
In May 2017, Worldreader and Opera conducted a survey on mobile web browsing trends in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. A gendered data analysis found that women use the web at the same frequency as men, usually more than eight times every day. Women also purportedly use the mobile web more for entertainment, self-development and empowerment through information.

Read more here.
Aarthi Subramanian named Chief Digital Officer of Tata Group 
 
The appointment of Aarthi Subramanian to one of India's biggest congolmerates is a milestone for women everywhere. Although Indian women have relatively good access to entry-level technology positions, there is a firm glass ceiling for their representation in the C-suite. It is hoped that her appointment drives gender digital inclusion in the Tata Group's mobile initiatives.

Read more here.
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The next issue of the Gender & Mobiles Newsletter is scheduled to be published in December 2017. We welcome your contributions!
The concept for the Gender & Mobiles newsletter was created by Ronda Zelezny-Green. This issue was sourced and compiled by Ronda Zelezny-Green and Alexandra Tyers.

Please bring any errors or omissions to the attention of the editors. Revisions will be addressed in the subsequent issue.

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