Information and communications technologies (ICTs), such as mobile phones, computers and the Internet, are rapidly expanding the volume of information available to previously disconnected communities. These technologies are also expanding access to opportunities, including income through entrepreneurship. The right technology in the hands of a woman entrepreneur yields economic and social benefits for not just her, but her family, community and country. According to a study in India from the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), ICTs can catalyze women’s economic advancement by improving business practices, and breaking traditional gender barriers at home and in the marketplace. But the private sector in India is only just beginning to see women as consumers; it has not yet realized the potential women entrepreneurs hold as a vibrant business market.
To better understand how ICTs can support women, the ICRW research centered on how mobile phones, the Internet and computers can increase the ability to generate income. One of the key findings is that mobile phones, more so than computers or the Internet, allow women to build business success. Also, ICTs are most effective at helping women entrepreneurs save time and access new markets. Mobile phones allow women to eliminate travel, multitask and coordinate business with domestic responsibilities. According to the ICRW, future interventions should make women a core part of business strategies, design policies that incentivize public-private partnerships, and draw on the expertise and experience of local organizations that are already working to provide poor women with income-generating opportunities.
