About the data
The WBA Digital Inclusion Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to advance digital inclusion, tracking how companies are expanding access to digital technologies, improving digital skills and literacy, and ensuring safe and inclusive digital environments for all. The 2026 edition assessed 200 companies across key sectors of the digital economy including telecommunications, software, hardware, and digital platforms. The benchmark is developed in close collaboration with an Expert Review Committee and partners including GRI, ITU, and the Alliance for Affordable Internet, with a methodology designed to incentivise companies to understand where digital exclusion risks are highest and act to bridge the digital divide, while keeping human rights and social impacts at its core.
More information can be found here.
More information can be found here.
Methodology
Some digital businesses are able to provide digital services remotely to customers around the world using little to no infrastructure of their own, yet they gain substantial value from interaction with users. This can lead to imbalanced economic value distribution, particularly in tax payments, which impacts governments’ abilities to fund essential services in developing countries.
Taxation, critical to achieving SDG target 17.1 on resource mobilisation, is increasingly challenged by digitalisation, prompting global efforts like the OECD/G20 framework to address these issues. Digital companies need to be transparent about their global economic value generation and distribution. Inaction on the part of companies only serves to strengthen reasons to be critical of them and harms their reputations. Moreover, without vibrant and growing economies across the globe, digital companies will find it increasingly challenging to sell their goods and services.
Research Guidance:
The company discloses indirect economic impacts resulting from its operations, beyond its direct financial transactions. Positive and negative impacts may be reported but inclusion of at least some specific examples is required.
Specific examples of indirect economic impacts caused by its business activities may include (but are not limited to): changes in productivity of industries, sectors, or the broader economy, economic development in underserved areas (e.g. job creation, poverty reduction, infrastructure development), supply chain impacts, availability of products/services to low-income populations, skills and knowledge development, social or environmental condition changes with economic consequences, foreign direct investment stimulation or limitation, relocation of operations and its economic effects, etc.
Alternatively, the company may disclose the significance of its indirect economic impacts in the context of external benchmarks and stakeholder priorities, such as national and international standards, protocols, and policy agendas.‚
Taxation, critical to achieving SDG target 17.1 on resource mobilisation, is increasingly challenged by digitalisation, prompting global efforts like the OECD/G20 framework to address these issues. Digital companies need to be transparent about their global economic value generation and distribution. Inaction on the part of companies only serves to strengthen reasons to be critical of them and harms their reputations. Moreover, without vibrant and growing economies across the globe, digital companies will find it increasingly challenging to sell their goods and services.
Research Guidance:
The company discloses indirect economic impacts resulting from its operations, beyond its direct financial transactions. Positive and negative impacts may be reported but inclusion of at least some specific examples is required.
Specific examples of indirect economic impacts caused by its business activities may include (but are not limited to): changes in productivity of industries, sectors, or the broader economy, economic development in underserved areas (e.g. job creation, poverty reduction, infrastructure development), supply chain impacts, availability of products/services to low-income populations, skills and knowledge development, social or environmental condition changes with economic consequences, foreign direct investment stimulation or limitation, relocation of operations and its economic effects, etc.
Alternatively, the company may disclose the significance of its indirect economic impacts in the context of external benchmarks and stakeholder priorities, such as national and international standards, protocols, and policy agendas.‚
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Not Applicable
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report