In Mozambique, only 10 percent of the population has access to the internet, one of the lowest internet penetration rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is primarily due to the high cost of internet access and smartphones, poor connectivity, and limited digital skills. Contributing to gender disparity in digital connectivity, rural women often lack access to education and employment opportunities and are therefore unable to afford internet-enabled phones. Unreliable access to energy, lack of information, and the belief that tech opportunities are exclusively for men also discourage women from becoming digitally connected. These limitations keep women from participating in the digital economy and improving their wellbeing, further perpetuating a cycle of poverty and entrenching the prevailing wisdom that technology opportunities are for men only.

Through the WomenConnect Challenge, USAID’s global call to close the digital gender divide, GAPI, a Mozambican development finance institution, and Bluetown, an internet service provider, joined efforts to address these pressing issues and help women in Ribáuè, Mozambique.