The FHI 360 Mobile Solutions Technical Assistance and Research (mSTAR) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), increased access to and use of mobile and digital technologies by low-income individuals, civil society, local government institutions and private-sector stakeholders.
The project fostered the rapid adoption and scale-up of:
- Digital finance. mSTAR promoted financial inclusion through research-based approaches that strengthened economic resilience and connected the underserved to the formal economy, including supporting the development of digital ecosystems, market capacity and end-user education.
- Digital inclusion. mSTAR supported the USAID goals of building partnerships to create enabling policies and regulations, developing new business models and providing relevant local content that makes mobile technology accessible to underserved populations. This work included supporting connectivity and inclusive digital development programming among vulnerable populations.
- Development informatics. mSTAR’s work in development informatics focused on the intentional use of digital technology and data to strengthen project design, implementation and management.
mSTAR helped to identify innovative technology interventions and projects designed for scale, to change policy and contract language to incorporate mobile data solutions into programs, to promote learning through mobile data among USAID staff and implementers and to assist governments to increase digital uptake to benefit underserved populations in resource-limited countries.
The mSTAR project worked in Bangladesh, India, Liberia and Mozambique, and with the USAID Regional Development Mission for Asia. The project also conducted activities in Afghanistan, Cambodia, El Salvador, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand and Uganda.
