Vodafone Connected Women Report 2014 released

 The Vodafone Connected Women Report 2014 has been released in India and it states that providing women with greater access to mobile phones and services could lead to a $29-billion increase in annual global productivity from 2020, as a result of greater female participation in the workforce and savings in public services.

This Report was supported by the Vodafone Foundation and in collaboration with Oxford University’s Said Business School and Accenture Sustainability Services, was released by Cherie Blair, Founder, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, at a special event held earlier.

Marten Pieters, Managing Director & CEO, Vodafone India, said, "The Vodafone Connected Women Report focusses on the impact and potential of mobile technology in various facets of the lives of women around the world. With gender disparity in itself being a big social challenge in India, the number of women owning a mobile phone is considerably lesser than the men. This gap not only affects women's ability to communicate, but it also presents a lost opportunity in terms of health, education, work, safety and inclusion. At Vodafone, we endeavour to address these issues by developing solutions that harness the power of mobile technology to foster inclusion and empower communities."

The Vodafone Connected Women Report illustrates the power of the mobile technology to catalyze economic development and exemplifies its transformational impact across the world with real-life cases. Highlighting the impact in India, the Report features on its cover Ramilaben Somabhai Parmar a RUDIben and profiles in detail the success of the RUDI Sandesha Vyavhar (RSV) initiative from India.

RUDI (The Rural Distribution Network) is a large network of rural women entrepreneurs in Gujarat, who market and distribute rural farm produce brought directly from farmers. It reaches 1.1 million households and provides an income for 3,000 women. These women entrepreneurs are known as RUDIbens.

Blair said, "I have been overwhelmed by the success of the RSV project in Gujarat in partnership with the Self Employed Women’s Association and the Vodafone Foundation in India. Many of the women have been able to increase their income significantly – in some cases by as much as four times. With higher profits, they have been able to send their children to school and afford healthcare.”

RUDI Sandesha Vyavhar (RSV), a special platform developed leveraging mobile technology, enables RUDIbens to submit their orders via SMSes on a basic phone. The software records their transactions, enabling them to track sales and reduce paperwork, significantly increasing their productivity and improving quality of life. The system also enables the RUDI organization to track and manage stock levels in real time and reduce inefficiencies that previously contributed to lost sales worth up to 20% of the revenue.