Millicom & the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women partner with USAID to foster women’s entrepreneurship in Africa
Stockholm, December 18, 2012 – Millicom International Cellular S.A. (“Millicom”) (Stockholmsbörsen: MIC) and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women are partnering with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to foster women’s entrepreneurship in the fast growing African mobile financial services industry. This public-private partnership will provide over 4,000 women throughout Tanzania, Ghana and Rwanda with support and training to set up a business as a Tigo Mobile Money agent, contributing to financial inclusion for themselves and thousands of other people.
Research published by the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in November 2011 revealed that, while there are many women engaged in the distribution networks of mobile operators in Africa, they are, in large proportion, in non-managerial positions. The project announced today is the first proactive attempt to work specifically with women entrepreneurs to support them in becoming successful Mobile Money agents. According to recent reports from the World Bank, an estimated 2.5 billion working-age adults globally have no access to formalized financial services. This number represents more than half the total global population of working-age adults. Sub-Saharan Africa in particular has the largest unbanked population, with only 12% of the region’s population having access to any form of formalized banking.
The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Millicom and USAID will be working with over 4,000 women entrepreneurs over an 18-month period. Participants will not only derive an income from this activity, but they will also contribute to the financial inclusion of thousands of people who will have access to mobile financial services as a result. The women involved will have access to 12-month working capital loans for their mobile money businesses distributed by local MFI partners through Millicom’s mobile financial services platform. They will also benefit from business skills training on financial literacy which will be an important component of the training curriculum. According to a GSMA study[1], a significant gender-gap exists in the adoption of mobile services in sub-Saharan Africa, where women are 23% less likely to own a mobile device. It is hoped that having more women agents will increase the number of women who benefit from mobile services.
”Women entrepreneurs stand to gain a great deal from selling mobile money products. With the right business training and working capital available, women entrepreneurs can benefit from being part of a mobile operator's value chain. Setting up mobile sales provides additional household income and the opportunity for these women to be financially independent.” –Cherie Blair
USAID Chief Innovation Officer, Maura O’Neill, remarked: “Our opportunity to economically empower women through powerful, wide-reaching mobile technologies is more realizable now than ever before. But our ability to succeed requires coordinated and collective action. As such, we value our partnership with the private sector and influential foundations, such as Millicom and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. The components of this partnership are ground-breaking, and we are excited to watch them unfold for the benefit of women and their families in Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana.”
Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO for Millicom commented: “I am proud that we at Millicom can be part of financial inclusion in Africa. This public-private initiative with renowned partners such as the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and USAID will foster women’s entrepreneurship to the benefit of all in the local communities. The initiative will deliver financial literacy and business development training for the women entrepreneurs to support them in managing their mobile money agent business.”
[1] Women and Mobile: A global opportunity (2010)
For further information, please visit www.millicom.com or contact:
President and Chief Executive Officer
Hans-Holger Albrecht
Tel: +46 8 562 000 12
Investor Inquiries:
Justine Dimovic
Tel: +352 27 759 479
investors@millicom.com
About Millicom
Millicom International Cellular S.A. is a global telecommunications group with mobile telephony operations in 13 countries in Latin America and Africa. It also operates various combinations of fixed telephony, cable and broadband businesses in six countries in Latin America and online and e-commerce services in a number of countries in Latin America and Africa. The Group’s mobile operations have a combined population under license of approximately 273 million people.
About Cherie Blair Foundation
The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women provides women entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia and the Middle East with the skills, technology, networks and access to finance that they need to become successful small and growing business owners, so that they can contribute to their economies and have a stronger voice in their societies. Working in partnership with local and international non-profit organisations and the private and public sector, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women develops projects with sustainable solutions to the challenges women entrepreneurs face through three programmes: Mobile Technology, Mentoring and Enterprise Development.
About USAID
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States. USAID promotes peace and stability by fostering economic growth, protecting human health, providing emergency humanitarian assistance, and enhancing democracy in developing countries. These efforts to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide represent U.S. values and advance U.S. interests for peace and prosperity.