Uninor’s Project Sampark Wins Greentech CSR Gold Award

IndiaCSR News Network

LUCKNOW : Uninor, the subsidiary of Norway-based Telenor Group, has been acknowledged for ‘outstanding achievement in corporate social responsibility’ in the service sector. The company has been bestowed upon with the Fourth Greentech Annual CSR Award  in the gold category for Project Sampark, an initiative aimed at bridging the mobile gender gap in rural areas of India. The award was announced at the  Award ceremony.

We are honoured to receive this coveted award. CSR is at the core to Uninor’s business strategy and we strongly believe in being a responsible corporate citizen. We are committed to extend the benefits of mobile services to the masses and the unconnected through initiatives like Project Sampark  said Pooja Thakran, Chief Communications Officer and CSR Head,Uninor.

Project Sampark aims to address the socio-economic causes behind the mobile gender gap and increase women’s access to mobile phones in the rural areas of India. A Uninor study done by the research firm GFK in the Aligarh district revealed that the incidence of mobile phone usage was significantly higher among males as compared to women.

The project uses innovative product and unique distribution model to make easy and hassle free mobile services available amongst rural women. It looked at approaching the barriers to mobile adoption through a two-pronged strategy to address key barriers like cost, culture, technical literacy and perception of values, which discourages women to adopt mobile telecommunication services. The pilot phase of Project Sampark was launched in August 2014 in UP (West) Uninor Circle.It has joined hands with GSMA for Project Sampark. The project lends itself to a strong self-sustaining business case and has achieved breakeven within four months of its launch. Uninor is now evaluating its deployment to other circles in north India that have similarities of issues and market dynamics with UP West.

Annual Greentech CSR Awards are given by the Greentech Foundation. The award, in its fourth year, is conferred upon companies/ organizations and their units demonstrating the highest level of commitment to corporate social responsibility activities. It aims to recognize exemplary CSR activities and systems and the evidence of their positive impact to business vitality and communities