Possibilities for the Use of Mobile Phones and More-than-Voice Services to Improve the Economic Status of Female-Headed Households at the BOP

25 Pages Posted: 14 Aug 2013

See all articles by Harsha de Silva

Harsha de Silva

LIRNEasia

Koliya Pulasinghe

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT)

Lilanka Panditha

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT)

Date Written: November 2012

Abstract

This paper considers a unique proposition; that given the evidence of women, with little access to formal finance, have been found to be much better at managing micro-enterprises and repayment when given the opportunity of microfinance at the emerging Asian bottom of the pyramid (BOP), whether the use of mobile phones and more-than-voice services could be used to improve the economic status of female-headed households at the emerging Asian BOP by ensuring appropriate information and access to manage their households. The initial results suggests that female-headed households are in fact economically worse off and that their phone use pattern, for economic-related services, is also less conducive for economic success than male-headed households in the emerging Asian BOP. This opens out a new area of thinking for development practitioners and commercial mobile phone service providers alike.

Keywords: BOP, Gender

Suggested Citation

de Silva, Harsha and Pulasinghe, Koliya and Panditha, Lilanka, Possibilities for the Use of Mobile Phones and More-than-Voice Services to Improve the Economic Status of Female-Headed Households at the BOP (November 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2309349 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2309349

Harsha De Silva (Contact Author)

LIRNEasia ( email )

12, Balcomb Place
Colombo, 00800
Sri Lanka

Koliya Pulasinghe

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) ( email )

New Kandy Rd
Malabe
Sri Lanka

Lilanka Panditha

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) ( email )

New Kandy Rd
Malabe
Sri Lanka

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
45
Abstract Views
488
PlumX Metrics