The Qtel Group, as part of its ongoing commitment to the GSMA mWomen Programme, hosted a workshop in Doha this month that brought together for the first time experts in the field of women and representatives from across the group.

The workshop is a preliminary session instigated by the group, as part of a wider ongoing strategy to implement attainable initiatives for programme across all its markets, a statement said.

Qtel Group Company Asiacell launched the Almas Line for Iraqi women, which focuses on the specific needs of female customers, creating an entry point to mobile services for 550,000 new customers in the first six months.

The offering, launched in 2011 after extensive research includes services such as affordable rates at specific times of the day, female-only call centres and discounts on services aimed at Iraqi women, a statement from Qtel said.

Women in low to middle-income countries are 21 per cent less likely than men to own a mobile phone, according to research conducted in 2010 by GSMA and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

Another Qtel company, Indosat, is exploring ways in which it can help empower women in Indonesia and close the gender gap with the use of technology, the statement said.

The mobile operator recently launched an offer specifically for women to meet the needs of housewives by offering affordable friends and family tariffs, a ‘family-finder’ application to track the geographical location of family members and an extended SIM card validity period.

The all day mWomen workshop explored ways in which the group could work together to improve the entry level to mobile ownership for women, it also looked at potential ways that mobile technologies could be harnessed to address business challenges faced by female entrepreneurs in emerging markets.

Dr Nasser Marafih, CEO, Qtel Group, said: “Hosting the workshop will accelerate the Qtel Group’s efforts to implement mWomen initiatives across our footprint. With women underserved by the mobile community and with a huge potential to transform lives it is key that we understand the requirements of our female customers across each market and provide them with relevant services.”

“We have already made great strides to deploy mWomen initiatives in our markets, including the Almas Line in Iraq and the efforts in Indonesia; we look forward to expanding on this in the coming year,” she said.

Representatives from across the Qtel Group presented mWomen initiatives that are currently being implemented within their home markets.

These included Indosat’s female focused tariff and their collaboration with the non-governmental organisation Mercy Corporations and Asiacell’s Almas Line a mobile offering targeted specifically for women that has been nominated for Best Mobile Product or Service for Women in Emerging Markets at this year’s GSMA Mobile World Congress Global Mobile Awards. – TradeArabia News Service