GSMA - Mobile for Development

#Humanitarian needs are rising each year, driven by climate shocks, conflict and displacement, yet funding is under pressure and response models are stretched. The M4D Impact Report on humanitarian innovation shows how mobile technology, used responsibly, can help bridge this gap at scale. Through the Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme, the GSMA together with the donor partners such as the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have launched multiple funding rounds to support startups and NGOs developing mobile enabled solutions for crisis settings, formed close to 50 strategic partnerships and produced dozens of thought leadership pieces to guide the sector. Together, these efforts have already improved access to life enhancing, mobile based services for more than 12 million people facing humanitarian crises. The report illustrates how these solutions work on the ground. Examples include mobile money enabled cash and voucher assistance, voice ID technology for secure aid delivery, early warning systems that send alerts via SMS and initiatives that use mobile agents as disaster risk reduction champions. Each example underscores the same point: when mobile operators, humanitarian organisations and governments collaborate, they can deliver responses that are faster, more #inclusive and better aligned with the needs and preferences of affected people. Explore the findings: https://lnkd.in/eWrvVepf #HumanitarianInnovation #M4D #Impact

📢 Welcome to the Friday Round-up, an overview of our unmissable content released over the past week! Swipe for the latest updates and click the links below to explore more 👇 📕 Reports, blogs and videos: https://lnkd.in/gKNWjCdg 📷 Instagram: https://lnkd.in/eVVFjtbK #M4D

Latin America has made strong progress expanding mobile coverage, but the digital divide is no longer just about access. Today, 32% of people in the region live within mobile broadband coverage but do not use mobile internet. Affordability, digital skills and relevance remain key barriers. Closing the usage gap is essential to unlocking productivity, inclusion and long‑term growth. The Mobile Economy Latin America 2026 sets out the policies and partnerships needed to turn connectivity into meaningful use. Download the report to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eujEfyFc

🧑🌾The numbers behind Indonesia's smallholder challenge are bleak: 🌾 Nearly 40% of farmers remain financially excluded 🌾 One extension worker serves up to five villages 🌾 Rice farmers produce roughly half of what their crops are capable of yielding Our new #CIU report draws on almost 200 interviews and field-testing across four Indonesian provinces identifying three #AI use cases ready to scale now which includes conversational advisory, alternative credit scoring and AI-enabled price prediction. 📖 Read the GSMA #CIU report: https://lnkd.in/ee9nuE9a #UKAid

Where is mobile money heading next, and what is it really becoming? 💰In the launch of the State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026, Vivek Badrinath, GSMA, reflects on how mobile money has moved far beyond basic transactions to become a platform for financial health and everyday resilience. Today, the most important shift is not just more usage, but what is being built on top of mobile money. A growing range of adjacent services such as credit, savings and insurance is transforming how people manage their finances in daily life. What was once primarily a tool for sending and receiving money is increasingly becoming a foundation for financial stability and opportunity. As this ecosystem expands, collaboration across operators, regulators, banks and fintech partners is essential to ensure these services remain trusted, accessible and impactful. 🎦 Watch the webinar: https://lnkd.in/erFRFqnw 🔗 Download the Report: https://www.gsma.com/sotir #SOTIR #MobileMoney #Fintech #FinancialHealth

#MWC26 Kigali is fast approaching and GSMA - Mobile for Development (M4D) will once again be at the heart of it 🙌 Following the success of previous iterations, #M4D will once again be hosting a dedicated 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲, providing a unique platform for insightful keynotes, panels and discussions around: ✔️ Climate ✔️ Digital public infrastructure ✔️ Financial health ✔️ Emerging technologies including #AI ✔️ Digital inclusion and gender ✔️ Humanitarian innovation ✔️ Startup innovation Join us at MWC Kigali, from 16 to 18 June and connect with partners working to build a more inclusive digital future. Check out the agenda and get your free pass 👉 https://gsma.at/1dI

At World Urban Forum 13 in Baku, the Business Assembly is exploring the housing value chain as a truly integrated system - we will bring that journey to its conclusion. 🎤 Business Assembly - Panel 3: Completing the System - Digital Infrastructure, Energy and Services Integration 📍 ONE UN Room C 🗓️ 17 May, 2026 ⏰ 15:45 - 16:45 (GMT+4) Homes are only adequate if they are livable. Yet the gap remains stark: 🔹 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water 🔹 3.5 billion lack safely managed sanitation 🔹 Millions more live without reliable power or connectivity Businesses already play a critical role in providing energy, water, digital infrastructure and transport, but integrating these services with housing from the outset is still the exception, not the rule. This panel will examine why that gap persists, what integrated service models look like when they work, and what it would take to make them the default rather than the exception. GSMA participants: 🔹Akanksha Sharma, Head of ClimateTech and Digital Utilities, Mobile for Development, GSMA  🔹Leila Guici, Senior Advocacy Manager, ClimateTech and Digital Utilities, Mobile for Development, GSMA 👉 Find out more and attend: https://lnkd.in/eBAH9Hc6 #WUF13 #WorldUrbanForum #DigitalInfrastructure #ClimateTech World Urban Forum, Sida, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Scale isn't just about getting bigger. It's about deepening impact 🎯 and building operational resilience 🛠️. In our recent blog we unpack lessons from the #GSMAInnovationFund Accelerated Growth round, supported by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where we worked with seven alumni ventures across Africa and Asia to help them overcome critical barriers to growth. We are proud to have supported Africa118 Inc Uganda, Ensibuuko, Freetown Waste Transformers (FWT SL LTD), ATEC Global Diyalo Technologies Pvt. Ltd, I-Stem and Orenda (Taleemabad). Each of these ventures enhanced their existing solutions and strengthened their business models, backed by our highly targeted technical assistance tailored to their specific needs and markets. 👉 Read the blog to learn what sustainable scale really looks like for startups in emerging markets: https://lnkd.in/eCMpvJX8

Indonesia is home to 27 million smallholder farmers, yet most operate at half their yield potential, with limited access to finance, markets or expert advice.  Our new GSMA #CentralInsightsUnit report explores how #AI is beginning to change that.  From conversational advisory chatbots to alternative credit scoring, 20 AI sub-use cases were assessed across advisory, markets and inclusive finance, identifying which are ready to scale now and which need investment to get there. 📖 Read the GSMA #CIU report: https://lnkd.in/ee9nuE9a #UKAid

Digital inclusion is about ensuring that people everywhere can afford devices and data, have the skills and confidence to go online and can find services that are relevant and safe. The Mobile for Development Impact Report on digital inclusion brings together evidence from across the GSMA #M4D portfolio to show how this is being achieved in practice. One of the strongest messages from the report is that targeted, context specific interventions can unlock impact at scale. Across multiple markets, operator and NGO partnerships are delivering structured digital skills training using practical toolkits that trainers can adapt to local languages, literacy levels and use cases. Explore the findings 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e7cqv9F7 #UKAid