Support for Social or Non-Profit Enterprises
Does the company provide support to social or non-profit enterprises?
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.
Open source has transformed the way software is developed and is driving innovation across the globe. Communities of dispersed developers are building on open source software to make it better and adaptable to new innovative uses. The Global Digital Compact and Pact for the Future emphasise the importance of digital public goods, including open source software, open data, open AI models and open standards, which empower societies and facilitate digital cooperation.
Supporting start-up ecosystems, particularly those led by vulnerable groups, also drives bottom-up innovation. Many digital companies have a dedicated venture capital fund. There is an opportunity for companies to channel some of that funding into promising start-ups whose founders are from vulnerable groups. Company support for incubators and affordable access to relevant products for start-ups can also help boost the tech ecosystem.
Research Guidance:
The company shows evidence of one or more programmes, partnerships, or initiatives that provide support to social or non-profit enterprises with a clearly defined social or environmental mission. This includes support for start-ups, NGOs,cooperativesor social businesses that are working to address challenges such as inequality, education, climate change,or other sustainabilityissues..Evidence should describe the intended social or environmental outcomes the support aims to achieve.
The initiative should specificallydemonstratesupport to non-profit or social enterprises/start-ups thatoperatewith an explicit social or environmental mission. This may be reflected through alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or reference to a defined sustainability challenge the initiativeseeksto address.
The support provided must be distinct from activities already captured under measurement areas A or B, and the initiative must have been active during the reporting period of interest.
The company should alsoindicatesome form of commitment - formal or informal - to supporting enterprises with a social or environmental mission,demonstratingongoing engagement in advancing positive social or environmental impact.
Supporting start-up ecosystems, particularly those led by vulnerable groups, also drives bottom-up innovation. Many digital companies have a dedicated venture capital fund. There is an opportunity for companies to channel some of that funding into promising start-ups whose founders are from vulnerable groups. Company support for incubators and affordable access to relevant products for start-ups can also help boost the tech ecosystem.
Research Guidance:
The company shows evidence of one or more programmes, partnerships, or initiatives that provide support to social or non-profit enterprises with a clearly defined social or environmental mission. This includes support for start-ups, NGOs,cooperativesor social businesses that are working to address challenges such as inequality, education, climate change,or other sustainabilityissues..Evidence should describe the intended social or environmental outcomes the support aims to achieve.
The initiative should specificallydemonstratesupport to non-profit or social enterprises/start-ups thatoperatewith an explicit social or environmental mission. This may be reflected through alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or reference to a defined sustainability challenge the initiativeseeksto address.
The support provided must be distinct from activities already captured under measurement areas A or B, and the initiative must have been active during the reporting period of interest.
The company should alsoindicatesome form of commitment - formal or informal - to supporting enterprises with a social or environmental mission,demonstratingongoing engagement in advancing positive social or environmental impact.