The Mobile for Development initiative of GSMA, the industry organisation that represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, aims to prove the power of mobile in emerging markets. It brings together GSMA mobile operator members, tech innovators, the development community and governments to identify opportunities and deliver innovations with socio-economic impact through a range of thematically focused funds.
Tetra Tech has worked with the Mobile for Development team as an Independent Fund Manager since 2008 and is considered a core fund management partner by DFID. We provide robust fund management systems and controls, based on our extensive technical experience.
The GSMA Mobile for Development team is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and other donors, including the US Agency for International Development and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
We managed more than 50 grants, worth more than £20 million, across six funds
Global
2008-2021
GSMA
Mobile for Development Utilities
2013-2020
Promoting the use of mobile services to open new pathways for affordable and reliable utility services to reach the underserved.
Ecosystem Accelerator
2016-2020
Building partnerships between operators and innovators to support the growth of commercially sustainable mobile products.
Disaster Response
2017-2020
Accelerating the delivery of life-enhancing mobile-enabled services during humanitarian and disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
mAgri
2014-2017
Forging partnerships to support scalable commercial mobile services for smallholder farmers and the agricultural industry at large.
Mobile Money for the Unbanked
2008-2013
Working with mobile operators and industry stakeholders to create a robust, relevant, and sustainable mobile money ecosystem.
mWomen
2008-2012
Developing solutions to address barriers to women accessing and using mobile internet and mobile money services.
Making impact
The success of our relationship with GSMA was founded on a combination of our robust technical knowledge of fund management systems and controls, and our clear understanding of the realities and challenges of start-up environments and nascent markets.
Our technical experience and expertise allowed us to continuously innovate and improve our fund management procedures based on lessons learned. We manage competitive selection processes, which include establishing independent selection panels and online platforms for applications. We work with GSMA to develop fund parameters, concept notes, and proposal templates and to carry out due diligence.
We designed and created donor-compliant policies and procedures, appropriate for start-up markets. Following the selection processes, we closely managed grant portfolios, monitoring progress towards grant agreements and impact numbers, and troubleshot where necessary. We provided guidance and hands-on support to the programme teams and grantees, and cascaded lessons learned across all of the grants.
Many of the innovative business models supported by Tetra Tech-managed GSMA funds have already become proven successes, winning global awards and becoming transformative market leaders:
M-KOPA Solar reached sales of Pay As You Go Solar Home Systems to 1 million households by 2018
SafeMotos―an app that improves the safety of Rwanda’s motorcycle taxis―was named on the 2016 Nominet Trust 100, a global celebration of the top uses of technology for social good
ME SOLshare peer-to-peer microgrids won the Outstanding Solar Project Award at Intersolar Global 2016, the world’s leading exhibition series for the solar industry and its partners
