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Although women, in general, are able to make financial decisions, their perception,
usability skills prevent them from investing in mobile phones. Skill development among
women to exploit digital connectedness is key.
Women entrepreneurs stand to benefit by not only being able to access content online,
but also by understanding the market for business innovation. They are able to bring out
a number of by-products of their main business through interactions online with their
customers.
To reach the last-mile, it is important to consider placing the technology in the hands of
communities. Their ability to turn connectivity into a business opportunity is
unquestionable.
Connectivity experiments around the world where the local communities were able to
exploit wireless technologies encourage governments to consider allowing unlicensed
spectrum for ICT-enabled community development activities.
Communities can bulk-purchase backhaul from telcos and turn that into a business
activity for themselves. They can further distribute access and manage community
broadband network the way they see profitable.
Public libraries, community information centres, and other public access points make it
easier to achieve last-mile connectivity.
Lack of digital content in Myanmar language pose a major problem in last-mile
connectivity; hence, it is important to consider a targeted approach to address the same.
Similarly, lack of digital skills among communities, and, women in particular, serve as
impediments to the growth in rural broadband. It is important to have a targeted program
to address the skills-gap among women in rural and remote locales.
There are a few digital literacy courses in Myanmar which the public sector might
consider scaling-up as a nation-wide program; there are also academic teacher-based
activities for use in schools as well as ICT toolkits for teachers.
The workshop also served as soft
launch for IREX’s latest research on
women’s digital access in Myanmar,
and the Web Foundation’s Digital
Gender Gap Audit, including report
cards for India and the Philippines.