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Women, Mobile Phones and Savings Case Study

The mobile phone is gaining widespread popularity as a means to bridge the “last mile” – to bring information and financial services to people without ready access to them. To get a better picture of how to best deliver mobile services, we conducted a case study with our partner, Cashpor Microcredit, based in Varanasi, India. Though enthusiasm for the mobile phone as a way to deliver these services is justified, there is evidence that poor women have limited access to and lack literacy with mobile devices, creating a gap in their access to financial and other services delivered this way. This study investigates some of these concerns, specifically whether women have limited access to savings services delivered via the mobile phone.

Executive summary available »