Gender diversity can bring great value to an organization and its business strategy. With this in mind, mobile platforms are going beyond just being a means of communication.
In developing countries, 200 million fewer women than men are online, and 300 million fewer women own a mobile phone (No Ceilings: The full participation report, March 2015).
Yet, research also shows that the impact of empowering women financially is tremendous starting with their ability to raise the living standard of the entire household given that they are more likely to spend their income on establishing healthier and sustainable lifestyles for their families.
Hence, mobile platforms have taken the noble task of financially and socially empowering the world. This is the true meaning of the ‘Digital World’. While Narendra Modi is still struggling with the aims and objectives of Digital India, these mobile platforms are serving the campaign to the truest of its meaning.
1. Tata Communications- To financially empower 25,000 women in the developing world, part of a larger vision to ultimately reach 100 million women, the global telecommunications company and global payments technology company join forces with a unique network of partners including Brightstar Corp, Kiva, Tone, Trickle Up and the Hidary Foundation to bring their shared vision to life over the next five years through access to transformative mobile platforms comprising a range of financial, health and education applications and services.
For financial inclusion, Tata Teleservices started a unique venture
mRUPEE has partnered with Manappuram
It recently partnered with
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As a long-term goal, Ericsson aims to have one third of its employees as women by 2020. Taking a step towards this goal, Ericsson is breaking the norm by hiring more female candidates in fields dominated by men. In its Operations Team, which is a male dominant area, Ericsson has hired 50 women in recent past.
4. MasterCard- MasterCard’s FINCA Project broadens financial service delivery channels, strengthens staff capacity, scales up savings, and measures social performance.
It allows the region’s financially underserved people to more easily access savings products and services through the development and deployment of new technologies. By making access to savings accounts and services more readily available, it is anticipated that the number of people creating their own financial safety nets will increase dramatically in coming years.
This initiative targets low-income and unbanked individuals in Malawi,
FINCA
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It includes no charges for opening an account online, overdraft, inactivity, card replacement, foreign transactions, and no annual or monthly fees
Because the Bluebird works like an ATM card, you can put value on the card and then withdraw it as cash without an ATM fee if you have direct deposit linked to your account.
Just like any other bill, your Bluebird can be used to pay taxes and you get hit with lower fees (like $3-4 rather than 2-3% of the transaction) than you would using a credit card.
(Image credits: Indiatimes, wsj, ericssonblueriver, muya, finca)