Conectadas — Tigo Bolivia & Crecer IFD's Women's Digital Skills Network

Bolivia's digital gender gap leaves rural and low-income women disproportionately excluded from online tools for business, safety and information. Since 2018, telecom operator Tigo Bolivia and microfinance NGO Crecer IFD have run Conectadas, a programme that layers digital-skills training onto Crecer IFD's existing community finance-point network rather than building new infrastructure from scratch.

Crecer IFD advisors are trained as multipliers — 464 were trained in 2024 alone, in digital parenting, cybersecurity and digital markets — and then replicate that training with their own microfinance clients across more than 80 Financial Attention Points (PAF) nationwide, with particular focus on rural and vulnerable communities. Participants also get free access to 'Educación Contigo,' an asynchronous online platform offering 30 self-paced courses on digital and soft skills, and receive practical instruction on QR-code payments, financial literacy, digital parenting and using social media for small businesses.

The partnership, renewed in March 2025, reports having trained more than 580,000 women since 2018, described by participating outlets as the largest reach of this model in Latin America.

These figures are self-reported participation counts released by the two partners through press statements and renewal announcements; no independently published assessment of digital-skill gains, income effects or other behavioural outcomes was found, so the number reflects reach rather than demonstrated impact.

Read the full analysis: https://erbol.com.bo/econom%C3%ADa/tigo-y-crecer-ifd-renuevan-convenio-para-impulsar-la-inclusi%C3%B3n-digital-de-mujeres