Millions of people will have mobile phone numbers

Extracted 05AUG2011 from http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39231&Cr=private&Cr1=sector

Three million poor people in Africa and South Asia, the majority of them women, will gain access to low-cost mobile phone numbers as part of technology firm Movirtu’s partnership with the United Nations-backed initiative that enlists the private sector in efforts to fight poverty.

Instead of sharing a phone number with family members or neighbours, those provided with a Movirtu cloud phone number will be able to use any mobile phone to log in with their own unique number to make and receive individual calls and access critical information and services such as banking or agriculture support.

The new effort is part of the Business Call to Action (BCtA), a global initiative supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the corporate responsibility scheme known as the UN Global Compact and several other organizations and governments.