Changing lives in a Mobile Society

The year 2017 marks 15 years of Digital Empowerment Foundation’s commitment to its vision of eradicating information poverty among rural and marginalised communities of India. This year also marks the eight-year milestone of the mBillionth Awards, a platform that was created in 2010 to identify and recognise innovations that are utilising mobile technology and leveraging increasing mobile penetration.

Over the years, we’ve recognised several initiatives such as CGNetSwara, 139 Railway Enquiry, Coke Studio Mobile Melodies, Jago Grahak Jago, Red Bus, OlaCabs, MobiKwik, Saavn, RailYaatri.in and Safetipin. So many of them, including OlaCabs, were awarded the mBillionth Award before they become household names that they are today. And now mBillionth has become synonymous with mobile communication for development in the South Asian region.

In the same year as when mBillionth was launched, American economist Jeffrey David Sachs said, “The mobile phone is the most powerful technology for ending poverty in the world today. With the spread of 3G and soon 4G technology, even the most remote schools in the poorest parts of the world can connect to the Internet and share ideas with other classrooms a continent away. Pastoralists, once isolated, can now quickly check on local market prices and make important decisions on whether to bring their herds in from kilometres away for sale in the local town. And critical health data and lifesaving information can be sent by text messages to clinics to support rapid diagnoses for patients in remote villages.”

And we’re witnessing all of this today. Be it agriculture, governance, commerce, finance, health care, education, entertainment or culture — every sector is going through dynamic changes by incorporating mobile technology for efficiency, transparency, profitability, accountability, outreach and dissemination.

We’re no longer living secluded lives, restricted to our families, neighbours and cultural groups. Instead, we are connected to each other in a mobile society where communication is revolutionising social, cultural and economic lives.

Like every year, the Jury went through a rigorous process this year too, to select only the best out of the best for the mBillionth Awards. As you go through the mBillionth Awards 2017 Awards Book titled ‘Mobile Societies’, you will come across solutions that innovators are providing to various problems in South Asia. However, we must remember that though we’ve come a long way, there’s still a long road ahead of us. Despite one billion mobile subscriptions in India, access is still a concern in rural and remote locations across the country.