Girls and Mobile 2.0 is a project implemented by Girl Effect and Vodafone Foundation. The project aims to empower 7 million girls across eight countries through mobile. As well as supporting the development of dedicated youth empowerment brands in both Tanzania and India, the partnership will support the growth of Girl Effect’s global mobile platform, Springster, making it available without data charges in every country that Vodafone operates in Africa. The programme will also support the launch of a series of innovations and new features on Springster, including a chatbot and IVR services. Partnerships will also be created with service providers on the ground, so girls can be connected to support services directly through mobile.
Digital connectivity is a key enabler of health, social, and economic well-being, and particularly, can empower women and girls, and help expand their self-agency. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the digital connectivity and accelerated digital transformation through a rapid expansion of online education and health services, e-commerce and remote working. Growth in mobile access and use is, however, unequal, with people living in rural areas, less educated, poor, older and women to likely be unconnected.
DAMAX was contracted by Girl Effect to conduct evaluation aimed at understanding the extent of the gender digital divide in Tanzania. Specifically, Girl Effect intends to understand the situation for girls today, including how adolescents are accessing digital content, what information they are looking for, and how is this access impacting their mental well-being. Further, Girl Effect also to understand adolescent use of social media and online spaces in the context of low and middle-income countries. This qualitative study was carried out in Pwani and Manyara regions. A total of 27 focus group discussions were conducted with “digitally dark” young girls and boys (14-21); and parents living with “digitally dark” young girls.