Tata Communications & Mastercard Team Up With Kiva to Launch a New Campaign that Seeks to Empower 100 Million Women

During the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting closing plenary this month, Tata Communications and MasterCard announced a CGI Commitment to Action to financially empower 25,000 women in the developing world, part of a larger vision to ultimately reach 100 million women.

The global telecommunications leader and the global payments company have officially joined 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.

Rangu SalgameRangu Salgame, CEO, Growth Ventures Group, Tata Communications, stated:

“Three billion people will come online over the next decade primarily from the developing world. We now have our generation’s greatest opportunity to unshackle women from endless cycles of poverty and dependency by providing them with access to information and economic opportunities. With this program, Tata Communications and MasterCard are embarking on a journey to harness the long-term potential of the next 3 billion online.”

In developing countries, 200 million fewer women than men are online, and 300 million fewer women own a mobile phone1. 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.

Walt MacneeWalt Macnee, vice chairman of MasterCard, then noted:

“Two billion adults globally, the majority of them women, still don’t have a safe and easy way to receive, store and use their money. We see an opportunity and responsibility to empower women with access to and control over their finances through digital financial tools. By financially including women around the globe, we take an important step towards poverty alleviation, equality and economic prosperity.”

Tata Communications, MasterCard and its network of partners will realize this vision by taking a non-linear implementation approach as is often taken in the technology sector. The program will kick-off with pilot projects in India, Nigeria, Indonesia and Guatemala, targeting 25,000 women, serving as microcosms. The replication of these microcosms will enable scale with a vision to reach 100 million women by 2020.



Sponsored Links by DQ Promote

 

 

Send this to a friend