The GSMA this week announced the launch of the GSMA Inclusive Tech Lab, which will take a hands-on approach to research, testing and development of the inclusive technologies of the future.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided three years of funding for the GSMA Inclusive Tech Lab, and will sit on the Advisory Group alongside industry representatives including GoPay, IDEMIA, KaiOS, Mowali, Telenor, the University of Washington, VEON and Vodafone.
The Lab will work on a range of areas that drive inclusion. These will comprise expanding the openness and interoperability of payment systems, service accessibility for women and vulnerable populations, and digital identities for unregistered people, as well as other topics of relevance. The GSMA, together with industry stakeholders, will establish and share proofs of concept aimed at increasing financial and digital inclusion for underserved groups.
The services of the Lab will be three-fold; research, innovation projects and technological assets (e.g. web-based test environments). Critically, the Lab will ensure learnings and Lab-developed solutions will be available to the broader industry, with the first results available to the industry in the first quarter of 2020.
John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA
The GSMA Mobile for Development programme has already had a direct impact on improving the lives of 58 million people. The Lab will allow our team of dedicated ‘technopreneurs’ the opportunity to take a hands-on approach to break down the barriers to economic and social inclusion further.
