How can technology, in this case mobile technology help people in hard-to-reach places and can it ever make our world fairer?
These are two questions our Social Impact Pioneer this week grapples with daily.
In this episode of the Business Fights Poverty podcast series – Social Impact Pioneers, we sit down with Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, Head of Mobile for Development at the GSMA, the global industry body uniting over 750 mobile operators and 400 tech companies. Max leads one of the most impactful teams in the world—Mobile for Development (M4D)—which has reached over 220 million people in low- and middle-income countries through mobile innovation.
Max shares how the GSMA’s initiatives drive digital inclusion, financial empowerment, climate resilience, and gender equality, particularly through its Connected Women campaign and mobile money ecosystems. He unpacks how mobile connectivity is closing the mobile gender gap, with targeted programs helping over 80 million women access mobile internet and financial services, and how GSMA-supported startups like Crop2Cash are using AI to empower African farmers.
We also explore the usage gap—the 3.1 billion people who live within network coverage but remain offline—and what’s being done to tackle digital barriers. Max highlights the GSMA’s push for commercially sustainable innovation, its AI Innovation Fund, and why ‘dumb AI’ built for real-world conditions in Africa may hold the key to inclusive tech.
Whether you're passionate about tech for good, sustainable development, startup ecosystems, or bridging the digital divide, this conversation is packed with insights on how to scale impact through smart, inclusive partnerships between the private and public sectors.
Tune in to hear how GSMA is helping build a more equitable digital future—and why the road to socio-economic transformation runs through mobile.
Links:
Links:
Max Cuvellier: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/gsma_people/max-cuvellier-giacomelli/
GSMA
Mobile for Development (“M4D”) : https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/
GSMA, #AccelerateAction: Our latest data shows progress in closing the mobile internet gender gap has stalled: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/blog/accelerateaction-our-latest-data-shows-progress-in-closing-the-mobile-internet-gender-gap-has-stalled/
GSMA: AI for Africa: Use cases delivering impact: : https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AI-for-Africa-Use-cases-delivering-impact.pdf
GSMA; Breaking Barriers: How we can close the Usage Gap: https://www.gsma.com/breakingbarriers/#:~:text=Only%204%25%20of%20the%20global,affects%203.1%20billion%20people%20globally.
GSMA: Ensuring food security by solving the agricultural information gap:
https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/blog/ensuring-food-security-by-solving-the-agricultural-information-gap/
GSMA: ClimateTech
Horizons
https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GSMA_ClimateTech_Horizons_2025.pdf