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.
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SDG target 9.c calls for universal and affordable access to the Internet. Additionally, the Global Digital Compact calls for increasing the availability and affordability of digital technologies for an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe and secure digital future for all.xi Yet the world remains far from achieving this target. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that 33% of the world’s population – around 2.6 billion people – was still offline in 2023.xii Most of these people reside in low- and middle-income countries, while those who lack digital access in high-income countries are mainly vulnerable groups, such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and elderly people.
Company best practices for this indicator involve measurable actions to help those lacking digital access get and stay connected. In the case of telecommunication companies, this could involve offering reduced connectivity prices for those with low incomes. Similarly, hardware companies might provide subsidised devices, enabling digital access for disadvantaged people. Participation in open, vendor-neutral initiatives to lower deployment costs in remote and rural areas is another example. These examples are illustrative, and companies may have other ways in which they support the goal of improving availability and affordability of digital technologies.
Research Guidance:
The company provides evidence of the changes that happen to vulnerable groups, organisations supported, the company employees, or company business as a result of the programme. The company may disclose one or more of the following:
- Evidence of the progress made toward the programme‚s stated goals or targets. This may include interim updates showing how the programme is tracking against milestones across time, coverage goals, or other indicators of planned progress.
- Evidence of outcome or impact data, comparing results to a baseline measurement taken before the programme began.
- Findings of internal or external monitoring efforts, including: the methods used (e.g. surveys, interviews, usage data, case studies), sources of data, limitations or context for interpreting the results.
In best-case disclosures, the company may provide results from a third-party evaluation, such as an impact assessment comparing with a control group or other inferential methods, which enhances the credibility and robustness of the data.