Connectivity: how mobile phones, computers and the internet can catalyze women’s entrepreneurship

This study examines how access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are transforming the economic opportunities available to poor and low-income women in India by promoting their entrepreneurial activity. What types of initiatives support small and medium enterprises for women, and through which ICTs? What factors shape a positive connection between ICTs and women’s business success? What barriers have been lifted and what opportunities realized? What types of impact are ICT-based initiatives having on women, their businesses and beyond? What promising pathways are being shaped, and what channels have yet to be explored?

The larger goal of this research is to identify how technology can be leveraged to create and transform entrepreneurial opportunities for women across the globe. The insights presented here are intended to inform programs, policies and investments that encourage women to start, strengthen and sustain businesses by adopting and using ICTs. Recommendations aim to provide direction for stakeholders—development actors, governments, and especially the private sector—on how they can support women’s entrepreneurship through ICT platforms, products and services.