The GSMA Innovation Fund for Mobile Internet Adoption and Digital Inclusion aims to support innovative solutions to increasing mobile internet adoption and use for those currently not using mobile internet services.
The mobile industry connects over 3.5 billion citizens to the internet across the globe and continues to lead efforts on digital inclusion by connecting more people every day. Despite this, there is still a ‘usage gap’ of 3.3 billion people covered by mobile broadband networks who are not using mobile internet services. These citizens tend to belong to the most marginalized groups and are disproportionately rural, female, and illiterate. If current trends continue, more than 40 percent of the population in low- and middle-income countries will still be offline in 2025.
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Funded projects will focus on innovations that overcome a number of the barriers to mobile internet adoption including Accessibility, Affordability, Digital Skills and Safety, and Security, and will look to demonstrate commercially sustainable models that can be scaled and replicated in similar environments.
The objective of the Fund is to support solutions that seek to address one or more of the following barriers to mobile internet adoption:
- Accessibility: Innovations that improve the accessibility and usability of handsets and mobile internet services for citizens who are unable to access them. This will not include access to networks, electricity or IDs
- Affordability: Innovations which improve the affordability of handsets and mobile internet services
- Digital skills: Innovations which focus on improving basic digital skills and confidence to access and use mobile internet
- Safety and security: Innovations that focus on improving the safety and security of those who want to use mobile internet. This will not include tackling issues of data privacy and fraud
This Fund will not support services, solutions or business models that have a focus on the creation of sector-specific locally relevant content (e.g. health or agriculture services; or maternal or childcare content). The Fund will not support the manufacturing or importation of hardware where access to the hardware (e.g. mobile devices) is seen as a barrier to internet adoption and usage.
The Fund will seek to:
- Promote partnerships between mobile operators and start-ups or SMEs in order to increase the reach of innovative mobile services to low-income citizens
- Test business models with the greatest potential for growth and impact in Asia and Africa
- Provide lessons and examples on the ways in which mobile is driving positive socio-economic change
The Fund is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), BMZ, the GSMA and its members.
Location:
United KingdomBenefits
- Grant funding between £100,000 and £250,000
- Mentoring on the use of mobile technology including expert advice and bringing organizations together physically or virtually to share relevant insights and best practice on how to overcome the barriers preventing the unconnected from adopting and using mobile internet (including specific expertise on women, rural, etc.)
- Monitoring and evaluation support to help evidence SDG outcomes and promote product improvement
- Facilitation of relationships with mobile operators
- Bootcamp (a program of expert-led sessions and targeted networking) and regular offline clinics including a session on improvements of your product or service through, for instance, supporting human-centered design or usability testing led by subject-matter experts
- Opportunity to increase your visibility and raising your profile to potential investors and partners through profiling in our publications, social media, and participation in events such as Mobile World Congress Barcelona (global) and the M360 series (regional)
Beyond this support, the selected grantees will also benefit from enhanced visibility through the program’s insight publications, learnings through exchange with other portfolio grantees and networking opportunities with the program’s networks.
Eligibilities
To be eligible to apply, start-ups or SMEs must meet the following criteria:
- Have active users and revenue in at least one eligible low- or middle-income market
- Use or be planning to use mobile technology strategically
- Have the potential and appetite to form strategic partnerships with mobile operators
- Have a clear and measurable socio-economic impact, in particular: serving low-income citizens, rural populations, women and/or youth
- Demonstrate how they will advance the SDGs
- Be registered and operating in the country of project implementation. The applicant must also be registered in the country where they will receive the grant money (if not the same as the implementation country).
- Be fully compliant with relevant business licensing, taxation, employee and other relevant regulations in all countries of operation
- Be compliant with all applicable laws including upholding/adhering to fundamental human rights, UK Modern Slavery Acts, Gender Equality Act, Child Protection Policies and all international labor standards
- Have 50% matching funding for the total grant amount ‘in cash’ and/or ‘in kind
Application Process
Apply through the given link.
Looking for fully-funded opportunities, install the Youth Opportunities Android or iOS App here.
Application Deadline: May 22, 2020
Application ClosedOfficial link
