AXIAN Telecom Joins GSMA Initiative to Bridge Gender Gap in Mobile Services Across Africa

AXIAN Telecom has announced its participation in the GSMA’s Connected Women Commitment Initiative, marking a significant step towards reducing the gender gap in mobile internet and mobile money services across Africa.

This initiative underscores our commitment to enhancing digital and financial inclusion for women, both essential for gender equality and empowerment. It complements our existing commitment to the United Nations’ (UN) Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and the UN’s Global Compact (UNGC) to ensure that women across Africa have the tools and opportunities to succeed in the digital age.

Understanding the barriers women face in accessing digital technology, AXIAN Telecom’s operations across Africa are ramping up their efforts to deploy product offerings tailored to female subscribers, such as bundling of data and finance products for women entrepreneurs.

To increase digital literacy among women, AXIAN Telecom’s subsidiaries are running mobile internet awareness and digital skills campaigns. They are also innovating our service delivery to include remote support for purchasing and using mobile services, and deploying female field agents to ensure that women, regardless of their location or responsibilities like childcare, have seamless access to our services.

In alignment with this commitment, AXIAN Telecom’s subsidiary, Telma Madagascar, pledges to elevate the presence of women within its customer base by July 2025. Furthermore, by December 2025, it is targeting an increase in the proportion of female customers actively using compatible data phones.
Similarly, AXIAN Telecom’s subsidiary in Togo, TOGOCOM, is dedicated to enhancing women’s inclusion within its customer base. By December 2026, TOGOCOM endeavours to raise the proportion of women in its data user customer base, along with an increase in the number of women utilising mobile money services.

We are proud to join the GSMA’s Connected Women Commitment Initiative. As an African brand, we understand our role in advancing lives, particularly for women on the continent. This milestone reinforces our dedication to promoting women’s digital and financial inclusion across Africa so that more women can access and benefit from mobile internet and financial services. This carries significant socio-economic benefits, offering women financial independence and the ability to contribute to national economies.

Stéphane Oudin, CEO, AXIAN Telecom

As part of this commitment, AXIAN Telecom will provide regular updates to the Connected Women team, reporting on progress every six months.
Through its participation in the Connected Women Commitment Initiative, AXIAN Telecom aligns with global efforts to achieve gender equality and empower women.