Impact of mobile phone usage on empowerment of rural women entrepreneurs: Evidence from rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Mobile phones have emerged as the predominant technology in developing countries, especially within agricultural enterprises. This research investigates the influence of mobile phone utilization on the empowerment of female entrepreneurs in rural farming communities. Data were gathered from 150 female agricultural entrepreneurs in the rural regions of Bangladesh. The empowerment of these women was assessed across five dimensions: economic, social, technological, psychological, and political. The findings indicate that the composite empowerment index was notably higher at 61.92% post-mobile phone adoption, in contrast to 37.47% prior to its use. This underscores the positive impact of mobile phone utilization on the empowerment of rural female farmers. The research highlighted significant enhancements in all five empowerment dimensions, with these augmentations being statistically meaningful. The most pronounced improvement was observed in economic empowerment, while political empowerment witnessed the least growth. Furthermore, the shifts were profoundly correlated with the other three dimensions: social, technological, and psychological. The evidence establishes a link between mobile phone adoption by rural female farmers and their subsequent empowerment, with empowerment metrics showing a steady rise from the low-usage to the high-usage categories. Consequently, the correlation is positive. The results advocate that mobile phone utilization assists rural female farmers in augmenting their empowerment. It is thus recommended that policymakers and developmental organizations prioritize mobile technology as a tool to empower rural women in Bangladesh. This can be realized by enhancing accessibility, confronting socio-cultural barriers, and fostering digital literacy.