I really do believe that digital inclusion
is an absolute imperative today.
A third of the world's population, ~three billion,
suffer from what I call the digital divide.
And while the pandemic had a lot of challenges,
there was a silver lining in the sense
that more and more of our daily activities did go online.
And when I say daily activities,
I don't just mean learning, working,
I also mean things like banking, healthcare, even identity.
But for those who are not part of this digital inclusion,
they enter into what I call
a worsening cycle of disenfranchisement.
And it's really up to us to bring everything together.
I really do believe that to make progress
and continued progress on this important issue,
we need all different parties to come together.
Multi-stakeholder engagement is critical
given the size of the challenge we face.
And when I say stakeholders,
I mean all, government, public companies, private companies
and other societal organizations.
To give you a sense of the magnitude, we need $2 trillion
over the next five years to really raise access
from 50% to 80% in terms of digital inclusion.
And it's not just funding.
There are so many other issues that need to be tackled,
be it digital skills and literacy,
ensuring that people have the right devices,
and really being part of the ecosystem of services
that can be delivered to all.
I'm really excited that over the last year
we've partnered with WEF and UNDP to create
what we call the Digital Inclusion Navigator.
It's part of the EDISON Alliance for digital inclusion.
And it's a live platform that really brings together
curated facts, as well as lessons learned,
what people can apply in real time.