Written by Suki Iyer on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership).

In the heart of Bangalore, India, lives a woman whose life has been transformed by the power of technology. Ashvini from Yadgiri has been living in the Windmills labor colony for the past three years.

Her daughter has been going to Sampark’s ECCD center since she was 6 months old. Ashvini works as a domestic helper in Windmill Apartments. She did not have a bank account or an UPI account.

However, her life took a significant turn when she was provided with a simple tool that opened up a world of possibilities – a mobile phone. Once she got a mobile phone, she opened a bank account, and installed GPay and other applications.

This hugely increased her agency – she is able to easily send money every month to her family back in the village; she is able to keep track of her expenses and thus save up to Rs 1500 (USD$ 18) a month. She also able to leverage apps on the phone for several other benefits for her children and family.

With her newfound access to a smartphone, Ashvini’s life underwent a remarkable transformation. No longer confined by tech limitations, she was able to connect with other members of the community, markets, and learn new skills through online platforms.

Ashvini became a more informed and empowered individual, mother, employee and a huge source of family support.

Ashvini’s story is not unique.

Across India, millions of women like her are benefiting from the digital revolution, which has the potential to bridge longstanding socio-economic gaps. Empowering women with phones not only provides them with access to information and resources but also serves as a catalyst for economic and social empowerment. Here are some of the key benefits:

Access to Information and Resources:

Mobile phones enable women to access vital information on healthcare, education, and government schemes. From learning about maternal health practices to accessing educational resources for their children, these devices serve as a gateway to knowledge that was once out of reach.

Economic and Social Empowerment:

By connecting women to markets and financial services, mobile phones empower them to participate more actively in economic activities. Mobile phones facilitate social networking and community engagement, allowing women to connect with peers, mentors, and support groups. Through digital platforms, they can share experiences, seek advice, and collaborate on various initiatives, fostering a sense of solidarity and empowerment.

Access to Education and Skill Development:

Digital literacy is increasingly becoming essential in today’s world. By providing women with smartphones, they can access educational content, online courses, and skill development programs, enhancing their knowledge and employability prospects.

While empowering women with phones is undoubtedly beneficial, it’s essential to recognize that technology alone is not enough to address the complex challenges they face. To maximize the impact of digital empowerment initiatives, complementary non-technology support is crucial.

These include services such as like digital literacy training so that women can be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to harness the full potential of technology.

It is also necessary to provide tailored support services that recognizing the diverse needs and challenges faced by women and address their specific circumstances. This may include access to healthcare, childcare facilities, transportation services, and market linkages to ensure holistic empowerment.

In conclusion, empowering women in India with phones is a transformative intervention that has the potential to bridge the digital divide and unlock opportunities for socio-economic advancement.

However, to realize the full benefits of digital empowerment, it’s imperative to complement technology interventions with targeted non-technology support that addresses the unique needs and challenges of women. By doing so, we can create a more inclusive and equitable society where every woman has the opportunity to thrive and succeed.

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This Women’ day month Sampark launches the #Mobile4akka campaign to empower her with a smartphone! This is where you come in! By donating, you can help us provide smartphones to migrant women, opening doors to education, entrepreneurship, and financial independence. Let’s bridge the gap and empower women through digital literacy.

Together, we can make amazing things happen! Join us this March in celebrating women and empowering through digital literacy! Donate now and be a part of this transformative journey.

https://bit.ly/3Iocgpw (Link to donate) (Indian Nationals)

http://goto.gg/63435 (Link to donate) (Foreign Nationals)

More about Sampark https://sampark.org/

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Written by Jagat Parikh on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)

Remember when you used to swipe your access card through the electromagnetic reader at the office door?

That norm will soon be done away with.

In the contemporary context, the world of access control and visitor management systems will be run by mobile-based credentials.

Instead of on a card, the visitors who come in will have their identity information on their smartphones, smartwatches, and other devices. This will be authenticated by the workplace’s physical access control system—be it a turnstile or digitally-lockable door—before allowing them access inside the premises.

In 2017, Gartner had reported that 1 in 5 companies would use smartphones as vehicles for identity management and access control by 2020.^[1] That number will only be set to increase as social distancing concepts gather momentum, and the need for contactless protocols rises.

^[1] Gartner Says That 20 Percent of Organizations Will Use Smartphones in Place of Traditional Physical Access Cards By 2020, Rob van der Meulen.

Access cards, while still handy, have several drawbacks which mobile access credential systems solve.

1. Reduced Costs

The cost of material, micro-wire, and printing for each card can dent a company’s revenue. Some companies in the U.S. pay as high as $15-25.

In the event that a company adopts mobile-access credentials, this whole cost process is eliminated. Due to the easy availability of smartphones in the world today, your employees will already have the bare bones of the protocol. Should identification be needed, there are several protocols available to a smartphone due to its versatility: QR code, One Time Passwords (OTPs), face recognition, and other biometrics.

2. Time Needed to Implement

When a new employee or maintenance staff is recruited, the process from production to obtaining their card can take 5-7 days! Employee codes have to be known, the data has to be entered into the card, and the material needs to be bought and paid for.

When you use mobile credentials, this process is whittled down to a 3-minute process. The analogy is the process of onboarding an employee into your company: you send them a company laptop with usernames and passwords. Similarly, you only need to send them an email with the directions to download a company app that has their access credentials ready for smartphone usage whenever they make a trip into the office.

3. Contactless Process

Access cards often required the visitor to swipe through a card reader or place it face down on a different type of card reader. This process involved contact with surfaces. While this is not a major plot point in the prevention of fatal danger, it can be salient to health standards.

With a smartphone, on the other hand, you do not always need to make contact with a surface. There are a variety of technologies out there that allow remote and contactless entry.

One such example is near field communication (NFC), which has already been used in access control, due to its ability to operate on low frequency, proximity and provide selective access. NFC devices can also record the access information, time of access, how long the access is granted and other security metrics. This information can be helpful to security professionals and HR managers alike. Other technologies like Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy can also be implemented to arrange a secure and safe protocol through personal area networks (PAN).

4. Complete User Experience

Physical access control systems are often closed systems and have an inability to integrate with other IT infrastructure. But with greater availability of mobile and cloud technologies, the user experience is now superior. Employees and visitors can be notified of any workplace emergencies on their smartphones through the integrated visitor management app. Credentials and other identity information that need to be updated (such as promoted designation, higher clearance, etc.) can be easily undertaken on a mobile phone, which avoids the lengthy process of creating a new card with new credentials.

Mobile phones are also just more valuable to people and are less likely to be lost than a card!

In the world of visitor management systems (VMS) and identity and access management (IAM), it is becoming clearer and clearer that mobile-based credentials have too many advantages to not dominate the future. Smartphones, due to their quality, are conducive to several multi-factor authentication parameters which can only people to feel secure, safe, and efficient over time.

The views in this article are Jagat’s personal and not endorsed by any organization.