This post was written by our Advisory Board Chair, Jean Philbert Nsengimana and Founder and Executive Director, Sonia Jorge
While access to the internet has enabled opportunities for many across the globe—promoting financial services, education, healthcare, and connecting people from all corners of the world, among other benefits—a global majority remain disconnected from the internet of opportunity.
As of 2022, 2.7 billion people out of nearly 8 billion globally are offline; the number is much higher if we consider those who already have basic access but are not meaningfully connected.
2.7 billion people out of nearly 8 billion globally are offline
This is further complicated when we examine the nuances of the global digital divide. A recent UN report also underscores that there are still huge gaps between urban and rural access and a further divide between men and women users, with men being more connected predominantly in poorer countries. Simply put, more work must be done to eliminate these gaps and achieve digital inclusion.
Today, we are delighted to introduce the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership (GDIP). This ambitious new project builds on the work and the team who successfully led solid evidence-based policy reform in low- and middle-income countries for nearly ten years and produced internationally recognized research, such as the Affordability Reports. GDIP addresses the critical question facing us today: how to ensure everyone is meaningfully connected to the internet by 2030?
Meaningful connectivity for the global majority
We are laser-focused on ensuring that meaningful access is a reality for the global majority, primarily focusing on women and girls and rural and marginalized populations. By rallying different stakeholders from across the globe to bring the meaningful access agenda to the forefront of digital inclusion dialogues and policy-making processes, GDIP aims to fast-track this goal. GDIP seeks actions needed to ensure digital opportunity empowers and supports people’s lives and agency rather than further contributing to increasing inequality and exclusion.
We can’t wait to work together with our long-standing partners and stakeholders from across the globe to advance universal meaningful access to secure digital inclusion by 2030. We welcome you to join us in this partnership and help us achieve the ambitious goals we’ve set out to achieve.
*Global majority is a term we use in referring to the regions of the world commonly known collectively as the global south, developing world, and low- and middle-income countries.
About GDIP
The Global Digital Inclusion Partnership is a coalition of public, private, and civil society organizations working to bring internet connectivity to the global majority and ensure everyone is meaningfully connected by 2030. GDIP advances digital opportunities to empower and support people’s lives and agency, leading to inclusive digital societies.