GSMA Calls for Applications for Mobile-Based Products or Services from African and Asian Start-Ups
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: At Mobile 360 - Africa, the GSMA today announced the launch of the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund, which will support innovative start-ups in emerging markets and is open to start-ups from and operating in Africa and selected countries in Asia. The Fund is backed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and supported by the GSMA and its members.
Through our Mobile for Development team, the GSMA has a proven track record in delivering life-enhancing mobile solutions at scale in critical areas such as mobile money, health and nutrition, agriculture, utilities and many others, said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA. The launch of the Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund is an exciting opportunity for the mobile industry to work with entrepreneurs in developing markets to create services that will deliver important socio-economic benefits to their communities. I anticipate that we will see some incredible applications and I look forward to seeing the first selected start-up businesses flourish.
The Fund will help identify innovations with the greatest potential for growth and provide best practices for stakeholders within the ecosystem on the ways in which they can use mobile to drive positive socio-economic impact. The Fund will provide funding and mobile-focused mentoring and technical assistance to selected start-ups, and establish partnerships between operators and start-ups to increase the reach of innovative mobile services.
The Fund will run several rounds between 2016 and 2020, with each round having specific areas of focus. During the first funding round, which will disburse approximately £2 million, applicants must be aligned with one or both of the following focus areas in order to be eligible:
Sharing Economy defined as any mobile-based platform, product or service which enables low-income citizens in emerging markets to generate income from under-utilised assets', such as free personal time or vehicle use, by sharing those assets with their peers.
Services for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) defined as any mobile-based solution, product or service designed for micro and SMEs in emerging markets that unlock improved productivity and growth.
For the first round, applications will be assessed through a two-stage application process. In the pitch stage , applicants are required to complete an online questionnaire providing an overview of their product or service; the deadline for submitting pitches is the 18th September 2016. In the proposal stage , eligible applicants with pitches that meet the objectives of the Fund will be invited to develop a detailed proposal setting out the full business case for the project, with the GSMA's support. A maximum of 30 pitches will be selected to advance to the proposal stage; an independent panel of experts will then appraise the proposals and make awards totaling £2 million to approximately 10 to 15 start-ups in January 2017.
For more information and to apply, visit: www.gsma.com/innovationfund.
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors
The Ecosystem Accelerator Programme is a GSMA Mobile for Development programme that is funded both by the GSMA and donors.
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with almost 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai and the Mobile 360 Series conferences.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.
Media Contacts:
Charlie Meredith-Hardy
+44 7917 298428
CMeredith-Hardy@webershandwick.com
David Ntwampe Maila
+ 27 72 015 4702
dmaila@webershandwick.com
GSMA Press Office
pressoffice@gsma.com
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
08/05/2024
08 05 2024 - Media release Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Star in Sophie Hyde's New Project JIMPA
Olivia Coleman and John Lithgow in JIMPA. Photo credit: ...
08/05/2024
OpenDrives Joins AWS Partner Network
Brie Clayton May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Atlas software-defined platform now available via AWS trusted partner network...
08/05/2024
Animate AI Matte Paintings in After Effects
Graham Quince May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Arguably the best video use for AI generated images is Matte Painting...
08/05/2024
Throw Expression in Adobe After Effects
Andy Ford May 7, 2024
0 Comments
The Throw expression is a time-saver in After Effects. It allows you to mov...
08/05/2024
Join FilmLight in Toronto: Baselight 6.1, Nara and more
Brie Clayton May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Thursday 30th May, from 2:30PM, Hosted by Alter Ego 488 ...
08/05/2024
Gray Television reported a first-quarter profit as advertising revenues rebounded to above pre-COVID-19 levels....
08/05/2024
The Today show shared the performers on its summer concert series, which feature...
08/05/2024
Lewis Dodley, longtime anchor for Spectrum News NY1, will retire at the end of May. He's been on the air at the Charter Communications-owned local news chan...
08/05/2024
Scripps Sports said it plans to air a new studio show when a new season of WNBA Friday Night Spotlight starts May 24....
08/05/2024
Advertisers are looking to reach the right audiences and tell their stories inside compelling content, Karen Kovacs, president of client partnerships at NBCUniv...
08/05/2024
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER Specialist in deliverables for cinema, events and trade shows
Rohde & Schwarz, a global leader in broadcast...
07/05/2024
NAB Show 2024
Utah Scientific rocked the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, unveiling two new game-changers in video signal management.
Our primary focus this yea...
07/05/2024
7th May 2024 The nations favourite comedy channel Gold has teamed up with the ma...
07/05/2024
There's something special about summer. We're not sure whether it's the warmer weather, the longer days, or something else a bit more magical, but s...
07/05/2024
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News
Media releases
NITV has announced the appointment of Michael Rennie as Presenter...
07/05/2024
The ability for line-of-site tactical voice and data networks to seamlessly traverse over Satellite Communications is an emerging requirement to assure warfight...
07/05/2024
On April 5, 2024, the L3Harris Avionics Products Repair Station (NN2R037L) in Gr...
07/05/2024
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/05/2024
Share this article
width=32 height=32 loading=lazy data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg />
wid...
07/05/2024
BURBANK, Calif. The Walt Disney Company has finally delivered some from profits from its hefty streaming investments, with the second quarter of its fiscal year...
07/05/2024
Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal, and Jen Psaki, MSNBC host, read from their new books at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan Wednesday, May 8. Hammer's...
07/05/2024
Paramount Plus has ordered the series Crutch, a comedy that is a spinoff of CBS comedy The Neighborhood. Tracy Morgan stars....
07/05/2024
Edward J. and Melody Thomas Scott and Lidia Bastianich will receive Lifetime Achievement honors at the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards in June, the National Aca...
07/05/2024
The 2024 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony happens in New York November 12, and the honorees are Al Roker, weather and featu...
07/05/2024
Dabl Network has added The Wayans Bros., The Jamie Foxx Show, Living Single and Everybody Hates Chris to its weekday and weekend lineups. Those shows join the l...
07/05/2024
After winning a proxy fight, The Walt Disney Co. said its entertainment business turned a profit and added subscribers in its fiscal second quarter....
07/05/2024
NBA Entertainment is closing out the second season of its series Pass the Rock with a look at Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, the league's rooki...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, which provides stations with streaming capabilities, said it is rebranding as Zeam Media....
07/05/2024
Samsung has made a deal with Magnolia Pictures that will bring titles from Magnolia to the Samsung TV Plus free streaming platform....
07/05/2024
Amazon, which has added commercials to Amazon Prime Video, is rolling out new interactive ad formats that will enable advertisers to engage streamers and sell s...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, a 15 year-old provider of streaming tech for local broadcast stations has rebranded itself, adopting the name of its streaming service launched in Febr...
07/05/2024
POST Luxembourgs journey with TAG Video underscores how finding a vendor who und...
07/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....
07/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldso...
07/05/2024
The Bulls are back home again this week from May 7-12! Don't miss out on any...
07/05/2024
RT has today welcomed the publication of three reports by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and the Media, Catherine Martin TD: The Re...
07/05/2024
In support of President Biden's executive order on AI, the U.S. government will use an NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD to produce generative AI advances in climate scie...
07/05/2024
SVG Sit-Down: AWS's Julie Souza on the Cloud and AI in Broadcast-Content Cre...
07/05/2024
Deloitte Analysts Peter Giorgio and Michael Vovk: Sports Properties Need To Reth...
07/05/2024
University of Texas' Jeff Hanel to Keynote 16th-Annual SVG College Summit Industry vet to discuss uniting live and creative in athletic department media arm...
07/05/2024
Premier League trials RefCam during Crystal Palace v Manchester United fixture By George Bevir
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 - 09:34
Print This Story
In a Premier ...
07/05/2024
CBS Sports Previews PGA Championship Plans; 125+ Cameras Include FlyCams, Bunker...
07/05/2024
Rohde & Schwarz brings cutting-edge solutions to TECNOSEC and DRONExpo 2024 Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its innovative portfolio at TECNOSEC and DRONExpo 20...
GSMA Calls for Applications for Mobile-Based Products or Services from African and Asian Start-Ups
