Qualcomm Wireless Reach Program Nominated for United Nations’ Prestigious WSIS Prizes 2020

We are excited to share that our Wireless Reach program in Senegal was nominated for the United Nations' prestigious WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society Process) Prizes award. 

Please take a minute to vote for Qualcomm and FHI 360's Wireless Solutions for Fisheries in Senegal initiative (C7 E-Agriculture) before January 24. Instructions on how to vote can be found in the video above. 

About the WSIS Prizes contest 

The WSIS Prizes contest, sponsored by the United Nations, was developed as an effective mechanism to evaluate projects and activities that leverage the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to advance sustainable development. Since its inception, the contest of WSIS Prizes has attracted more than 300,000 stakeholders from across the globe, including government, private sector, international and regional institutions, civil society, and academia.

The list of nominated projects is available here. The WSIS multi-stakeholder community is invited to participate and cast its vote for one project in each of 18 categories.

About the Wireless Solutions for Fisheries in Senegal (WISE) project

Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ is a strategic initiative that brings wireless technology to underserved communities globally. Wireless Reach invests in programs that foster entrepreneurship, aid in public safety, enhance the delivery of health care, enrich teaching and learning and improve environmental sustainability. Mobile technology, powered by Qualcomm inventions, has helped shape a better future by bringing the Internet to the unconnected, education to the unschooled, financial services to the unbanked, and jobs to the unemployed. Currently, there are 119 Wireless Reach programs in 47 countries reaching over 18 million people through Qualcomm technology.

Ninety percent of the fish available in Senegal is caught by small-scale fishermen, then sold to wholesale fish markets and small-scale fish processors who are predominantly women. The economic growth of these entrepreneurs are hampered by lack of access to timely fish prices at wholesale markets, scant knowledge of improved processing techniques, limited access to financial services and exposure to higher health risks and poor hygiene at processing sites.. Wireless Solutions for Fisheries in Senegal (WISE) utilizes advanced wireless technologies to improve lives in several ways—including creating improved income opportunities for both fishers and processors by providing participants increased access to affordable loans and mobile money; information on fish market data; processing best practices; improving the health and well-being of those with access by providing information on health and processing best practices; and improving the safety and well-being of fishermen by providing them daily navigational resources, such as ocean state forecasts.

• The program developed an electronic market information system and trained data collectors to use mobile devices and 3G/4G connectivity to gather and transmit fish market data, which is then accessible to fishers and processors enabling them to negotiate the best price for their catch or processed fish. 

• The program-developed WISE mobile application provides daily weather information, ocean state forecasts such as wave heights, visibility, wind speed and direction at different times of the day, and navigational resources such as Global Positioning System (GPS) for charting a course to fishing zones and back to landing sites. 

• The WISE app provides fish processing best practices and safety tips in video formats optimized for use on mobile devices. 

• Working with local micro-lending institutions, WISE provides access to affordable loans, enabling fish processors and fishers to expand their businesses. 

• Fishers use the GPS feature of the WISE app to communicate their location to family members and rescue teams when stranded in the ocean. 

Vote for WISE 
Please take a minute to vote for Qualcomm and FHI 360's Wireless Solutions for Fishery in Senegal initiative (C7 E-Agriculture). Instructions on how to vote can be found in the video above.