Indosat announces collaboration with Nokia as part of the GSMA mWomen Programme

Mobilk - Mobile operator Indosat, a Qtel Group company, is proud to announce a new collaboration with Nokia as part of the GSMA mWomen Programme, a global public-private partnership aiming to reduce the global mobile phone gender gap. This collaboration will offer Indonesian women the opportunity to own and effectively use mobile phones, to access relevant information and services, empowering them to improve their own and their families’ quality of life. 

During Q2, Indosat and Nokia are launching a package available on selected Nokia mobile phones which will include a special Nokia Life service focusing on women empowerment called “Info Wanita”. This package will also include existing Indosat’s Hebat Keluarga (Great Family) plan which aims to meet the needs of housewives to better manage their household and be in frequent contact with their families. The plan, launched in July 2011, includes an affordable friends and family tariff, a ‘family-finder’ application to track the geographical location of family members and an extended SIM card validity period.

As part of this initiative the new “Info Wanita” will be offered for free to Indosat customers for a period of one year. Customers will have to activate this service within the Nokia Life menu that comes pre-embedded on select Nokia phones in order to receive the free service. Three times per week, Nokia Life will provide over SMS the content on several topics which are the most relevant and important to women in Indonesia, including themes such as Health, Childcare, Small Business Management, Financial Management and Life Skills. The content has been developed in cooperation with the Foundation for Social Change, a non-profit social enterprise specializing in education and empowerment of women and girls in developing countries. 

“The cooperation between Indosat and Nokia tackles gender issues around access to technology,” said Harry Sasongko, CEO, Indosat. “We are committed to providing relevant services for women and we believe that our mWomen initiatives will have great social impact as well as positive commercial results for Indosat in the coming years.”

“As part of our strategy to connect the next billion people, we are excited to establish a close relationship with Indosat on this initiative to advance the goals of the mWomen project and empower women through mobile technology.  Our approach is to deliver life-enhancing and locally relevant content to consumers on modern, affordable mobile phones. We believe that our new enhanced Nokia Life offering and our joint effort with Indosat to deliver our Info Wanita service will have a positive social impact for women in Indonesia,” said Mary T. McDowell, executive vice president, Mobile Phones, Nokia.

 “The GSMA mWomen Programme partners with the mobile industry to highlight the value in targeting the women’s segment,” said Trina DasGupta, GSMA mWomen Programme Director. “We are delighted to be working with Indosat and Nokia to support their mWomen efforts.”

Mobile phones represent the most widely available communication tool in the world and today four out of five mobile connections are in emerging markets. Research shows that in these countries, mobile phones improve income generating opportunities and business efficiencies, access to health information and connections with family and friends. However, a study by the GSMA Development Fund and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women found that women are not benefiting equally with men: in low- to middle-income countries, a woman is 21 per cent less likely than a man to own a mobile phone and subsequently less likely to receive the benefits mobile brings.