- Vodafone reiterates commitment for a socially Mpowered Digital India
- Vodafone Social Apps Hub to be the one-stop shop for all socially impactful mobile apps
- This unique, first of its kind app-store already hosts over 100 proven social mobile apps
- Brings together developers and communities for social good
New Delhi, 7 April 2016: Vodafone Foundation today launched the ‘Vodafone Social Apps Hub’, a first of its kind platform that curates all mobile apps designed and developed for community welfare on a single platform. Developed in partnership with the NASSCOM Foundation, this unique first of its kind app store for India, showcases the best of technology which addresses real life socio-economic challenges.
The Hub identifies reviews and features social apps developed for various developmental sectors and beneficiaries. It does so by bringing together various stakeholders including app developers and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), government initiatives and social enterprises which use the mobile platform and technology to drive awareness building, inclusion and empowerment within communities, across sectors.
Over 100 such mobile applications are already featured across six main categories – Health, Safety, Education, Agriculture, Disability and Governance. This makes it arguably the largest exclusive repository of socially relevant mobile applications in India.
Launching the Vodafone Social Apps Hub, Mr. P Balaji, Director, Regulatory, External Affairs & CSR said, “The potential of mobile technology to address several of our country’s socio economic challenges is unparalleled. In addition to reducing the barriers in inclusion and communication, mobile technology has proved to be an effective means of development. Several mobile apps, across sectors, have already created substantial impact with their insightful approach and innovative solutions resulting in better education, health, livelihoods and safety. However, the awareness of such apps amongst beneficiaries, app developers, the development sector and general citizens is quite low. The Vodafone Foundation, guided by its philosophy of ‘Connected for Good’ has curated the Vodafone Social Apps Hub to solve this problem.”
Mr. Shrikant Sinha, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation said, “With the number of mobile connections across India crossing the 100 crore mark, mobile has been able to create inroads to the most remote part of our country and has become the best suited platform for social development. While the underserved communities across India are opening their minds to the power of mobile phones, it was a necessity to make sure that the best of the social apps that benefit them are all carefully handpicked and made easily accessible at one single web address. ‘Social Apps Hub’ is such a platform and we are proud to partner Vodafone Foundation in creating and helping them scale this further both in terms of the number of apps as well as the number of users benefitting from it”
Vodafone Foundation envisages the hub to create an ecosystem for users from diverse backgrounds to actively engage and learn about mobile applications and technologies which make lives easier and enable 360 degrees societal development.
ABOUT VODAFONE SOCIAL APPS HUB
Designed to be extremely user friendly, the Hub is structured such that the desired information about the sector of interest and relevant apps are easily accessible to download and use. Once a user clicks on the selected app, he/she is directed to the app page which gives app description and its features. Upon pressing the download button, the user is directed to the relevant app store where she can download the app.
The Vodafone Social App Hub also features multiple case studies on how mobile technology has created impact at the grass roots, pan-India across socio-economic indicators. Listed in order of popularity, this feature enables social organizations to showcase the impact of their respective work to a larger audience.
The ‘Call For Apps’ section gives a chance to the socially aware citizen to post a problem statement which she feels can be effectively solved using mobile technology. The information that needs to be supplied includes the objective of the proposed application, elaborate description of the idea, features that the app should have and the potential beneficiaries the app will address to. This acts as a rich source of problem statements for Developers, who can develop their own apps and submit on to the website. This section is also a great tool for NGOs and social organizations to seek a technological scalable solution to the multiple programmatic barriers they face on the field.
The D’Corner section gives a provision for developers to discuss technology trends and issues in the social sector through the ‘Developer Forums’. They can also access information on various upcoming developer contests across India in this section. Lastly, users can also learn of the latest developments in the ‘technology for good’ sector through the ‘Tech Insights’ section, which curates content from various relevant sources.
The Social Apps Hub is implemented and managed by India’s largest CSR & Sustainability platform– NextGen
Visit the website https://socialapphub.com to learn more!
Vodafone Foundation
Connecting for Good
The Vodafone Foundation in India recognises the power of mobile technology to address some of India’s most pressing challenges relating to education, health, equality and access. We are committed to enable people and technology to drive innovation, disseminate knowledge, and create shared value to improve lives.
By leveraging our mobile technology in the four areas of m-women, m-education, m-health and m-agriculture, it works in partnership with charities, development agencies and the community to drive social change on a large scale in India. As part of its social investment programme, the Vodafone Foundation in India also focuses on disaster relief and implements ‘World of Difference’, a unique employee engagement programme.
In countries in which Vodafone operates, a unique footprint of 27 Vodafone Foundations operate to deliver our social investment programme. These programmes are directed and chosen by the Foundation Trustees and receive funding from the Vodafone Foundation in the UK as well as their local Vodafone company. For more information, please visit
- Website – vodafone.in/about-us/foundation
- Vodafone Foundation Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/VodafoneFoundationIndia
- Vodafone Foundation Twitter handle – @vodafoneIN_Fdtn
NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum
In line with NASSCOM Foundation’s vision of enhancing lives through technology, the NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum (NSIF) identifies, Awards, showcases and supports innovative initiatives that have used Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for positive social impact. NSIF provides ecosystem support to social innovators, to aid and enhance the development and reach of technology based solutions. With an aim to address the key gaps in inclusive development, NSIF focuses promoting solutions on education, skills development, health, financial inclusion, disaster management and Assistive Technologies (for Persons with Disabilities). Through this platform, NSIF, aspires to build a systematic commitment to social innovations and inspire change-makers in Corporates and Not-For Profits to leverage technology to deepen social impact. For more Information, please visit, https://nasscomfoundation.org/get-engaged/nasscom-social-innovation-forum.html