Girls and Mobile
Working with Girl Effect to unlock the power of girls through mobile.
Empowering girls through mobile
Mobile puts the power in girls’ hands.
Mobile phones have the potential to transform the lives of millions around the world, but girls are being left behind. Vodafone Foundation and Girl Effect came together in 2018 to develop digital tools and products that meet girls where they are – creating online spaces for girls to ask questions, find information and connect to services and each other - whatever level of phone or data access they have.
Since 2018, Vodafone Foundation and Girl Effect have connected over 10.1 million girls in seven countries. We’re empowering girls to reach their potential, equipping them with confidence to explore their curiosities and enabling them to make their aspirations a reality, wherever they are.
The partnership launched the first comprehensive global study into adolescent girls and mobile technology. The research found…
- Girls are being left behind with mobile, and internet access is growing rapidly but not equally
- Boys are 1.5 times more likely to own a mobile phone than girls
- 52% of girls have to borrow a mobile phone if they want access compared to 28% of boys
Click here to read the full report, ‘Real girls, real lives, connected’
10.1 million+
girls connected across
7 countries
1 million+
girls finding advice through Chatbots
2 new
mobile-led brands
designed for girls
in Tanzania and India
Our mobile-led brands designed for girls
Together we launched two new mobile-led brands designed for girls in Tanzania and India. Chhaa Jaa in India and Tujibebe in Tanzania are both free for girls on any feature phone. Girls can explore the topics that are important to them, find answers to their questions and share their concerns, through digital dramas and comedy shows, social media content and on-demand audio content through Interactive Voice Response (IVR).
- Nearly 7 million girls in India have used Chhaa Jaa through chatbot and social media
- Over 1 million girls in Tanzania have found support through Tujibebe by calling the IVR line
We built a digital Big Sister for girls around the world. Our AI powered chatbot on Facebook and WhatsApp gives girls the private space to ask for non-judgmental advice and answers to questions they can’t ask anyone else. From questions about love and relationships or sex, STIs, contraception and pregnancy, Big Sis is there for them.
- Girls have started 50K conversations with Big Sis in India and South Africa
- Over 1m messages have been sent to the chatbots by girls
As the world turns its attention to ‘building back better’, supporting girls to make positive choices and changes in their lives matters more than ever before. And not just for girls, for all of us. The world wasn’t working for girls before 2020. And it definitely isn’t working for them now. With Covid-19 lockdowns and closed schools, mobile is a critical tool to reach girls.
Mobiles puts the power in girls’ hands. When girls unlock their power, everyone wins.
