• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Our Services
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Top Nav Social Icons

Mobile ID World

Mobile ID World

Identification Revolution

  • Mobile ID
    • What Is Mobile ID?
    • Identity Associations
    • Premier Partners
    • FAQ
  • News
  • Solutions
    • Behavioral
    • Facial Recognition
    • Fingerprint Biometrics
    • Iris Biometrics
    • Second Factor
    • Smart Cards
    • Smartphones
    • Vital
    • Voice
    • Wearable Tech
    • Other
  • Applications
    • Access Control
    • Cloud Technology
    • Commerce
    • Enterprise
    • Healthcare
    • Identification
    • Internet of Things
    • Law Enforcement
    • Strong Online Authentication
  • Exclusive
    • Interviews
    • Featured Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Companies
  • Events

GSMA Opens Applications for Innovation Fund to Promote Digital Inclusion

April 17, 2020

GSMA Opens Applications for Innovation Fund to Promote Digital Inclusion

The GSMA is now accepting applications for the Innovation Fund for Mobile Internet Adoption and Digital Inclusion. The Fund is intended to promote internet usage in Asia and Africa, where people in many countries are not online even though there is reliable internet coverage in their area.

In that regard, the organization notes that there is a major discrepancy between the availability of internet access and the number of people using it. According to the GSMA, 3.3 billion people are not currently taking advantage of mobile internet services despite the fact that mobile internet coverage now reaches 91 percent of the world’s population. That coverage reflects the $1 trillion that mobile operators have invested in infrastructure in the past five years.

“Now is the time to find innovative ways to solve this usage gap for the digitally excluded – regardless of who or where they are,” said GSMA Chief Regulatory Officer John Giusti. “The Innovation Fund will drive partnerships to develop new and innovative ways of increasing use of the mobile internet so that more citizens can fully participate in society and the economy.”

To that end, the Fund was set up to support solutions that can address one of the four major barriers to internet adoption. It will back projects that can make mobile devices more affordable, or projects that can make them more accessible and more user-friendly. It will also back education initiatives to help make people more comfortable with the technology. The funds themselves are earmarked for startups and small to medium enterprises. 

The GSMA noted that marginalized individuals are less likely to be online. That includes women and those in rural areas, with women in low and middle income countries being 20 percent less likely to use the internet than men in the same areas.

The Innovation Fund is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in addition to the GSMA and its members. Interested parties have until May 22 to submit their application.

The GSMA recently committed with its host partners to extend MWC Barcelona through to 2024.

Filed Under: Industry News Tagged With: connectivity, digital inclusion, digital inclusion efforts, GSMA, GSMA Innovation Fund for Mobile Internet Adoption and Digital Inclusion, Innovation Fund for Mobile Internet Adoption and Digital Inclusion, internet access, internet connectivity, mobile connectivity, mobile technology

Related News & Articles

Mastercard Highlights Growing Adoption of EMV in US

FPC, Precise Biometrics Delve Into Smart Card Sensor Deal

IDEMIA Deploys Motion Code Tech in New Credit Card in Spain

Primary Sidebar

Register For the Next Virtual Identity Summit

Register now!

Tweets

Sponsored Links

FACEPHI is a global leader in Facial Recognition technology and in Mobile Biometrics technologies. With a strong concentration in the financial sector, FacePhi's product is rapidly becoming a service used by banks all over the world. Its implementation doesn’t just save money, it is also a way to attract clients and build loyalty, while increasing the security of transactions for both the customer and the business. To learn more about FacePhi, visit https://www.facephi.com/en/

Recent Posts

  • FCC Tells Apple and Google to Get Rid of TikTok
  • Yubico Offers Subscriptions Through AWS Marketplace
  • Saskatchewan Privacy Commissioner Urges Development of Optional Digital ID
  • Wearable Authentication Company Closes $13 Million Funding Round
  • Fobi and Barnet Unveil New Digital Wallet Loyalty Solution

Footer

  • About Us
  • Company Directory
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Archives
  • CCPA: Do not sell my personal info.

Follow Us

Copyright © 2022 MobileIDWorld