How iWomen works
iWomen is short for “inspir-
ing women”, a mobile app that
will tell women’s true life sto-
ries, encourage them to share
experiences with each other,
establish self-help groups to
solve their own challenges, and
make their voices heard.
How iWomen
is funded
With support from UNDP
Innovation Fund, May Doe
Kabar was able to set up a
crowd fund and offer its mem-
bers loans at a 2.5% interest
rate. Smartphone suppliers
are also engaged in the supply
chain of the app. Members can
buy the smartphones using the
money they loaned and install
the iWomen app. iWomen’s
management team would meet
regularly to discuss the finan-
cial needs of its members and
how to utilize the crowd fund
to help them.
nical expertise in the develop-
ment and maintenance of the
app.
Innovative stickers
The rise of social media has
introduced the use of emot-
icons and stickers to express
one’s emotions. Riding with
this modern wave, iWomen
has opted to introduce a set of
stickers especially designed for
the app. Initially, the women
in Daw Cho Aye’s village took
time using them in online con-
versations as it was something
quite new to them. It was wide-
ly utilized over time.
Women groups can also up-
load event information on the
app and invite women in the
network to participate. “Rural
women face a lot of challeng-
es, and the reason is that oth-
er women are not supporting
them enough”, said Eleonora
Gatti, co-founder of iWom-
en and consultant of UNDP
In a way, the use of these
Apart from its financial sup-
Myanmar.
port, UNDP has shared tech- stickers is a way of empower-
Photo from: iWomen Website
During the iWomen App Soft Launch
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