The Challenge
The internet is a pervasive, fundamental part of daily life that continues to deliver massive economic and social benefits around the world. Yet some 3.9 billion people – more than 52% of the world’s population – are still not online.

Although much progress has been made in closing the digital divide, the challenge remains huge, complex and multidimensional. It requires a collaborative, multistakeholder approach to overcome four key barriers to internet inclusion: infrastructure; affordability; skills, awareness and cultural acceptance; and relevant content.

The Internet for All Initiative
Internet for All establishes and facilitates physical and digital platforms at the global, regional and national level, that will create tens of millions of new internet users, with a focus on the hardest to reach. It brings together stakeholders from the public and private sectors, non-profits, academia, international organizations, donors and civil society to create multistakeholder partnerships to achieve the following:

•  Accelerate innovations


•  Coordinate investments


•  Strengthen the policy and regulatory environment


•  Align programmes


•  Develop impactful partnerships

The Value Proposition
Participation in the Internet for All project enhances an organization’s efforts in internet inclusion. By leveraging the Forum’s unparalleled and impartial convening platform, benefits include:

• Space for pre-competitive collaboration


• Platform for collective and impartial discussions with policy-makers


• Visibility as a leader on global, regional and national levels through the Forum’s events and media channels


• Opportunities to develop new partnerships with non-traditional industry leaders and strengthen existing partnerships


• Insight and contextual intelligence to complimentary Forum projects such as:


• Promoting Global Financial Inclusion


• Primary Healthcare Coalition


• New Vision for Agriculture


• Digital Trade

Accomplishments to Date
Internet for All recorded important achievements that set the project on its way to reaching its long-term goal of bringing tens millions of new internet users online. Highlights include:

• Creating a global community of over 50 leading organizations from business, government, civil society, academia, donors and international organizations, as part of the Internet for All Steering Committee


• Creating seven Global Working Groups on critical topics for collaboration and linking these topics to other Forum communities and agendas at other global meetings


• Launching country programmes in Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Argentina and Jordan.


• Thought Leadership Reports. In 2016, A Framework for Accelerating Internet Access and Adoption to help decision makers develop strategy and actions to achieve Internet for All. In 2017, An Investment Framework for Digital Adoption that illustrates an investment model that can be used to quantify the costs to achieve universal access and adoption.

Most recently available figures used : 1. World Bank, 2012; 2. ITU 2015 estimate; 3.The Broadband Commission, State of Broadband Report, 2015; 4. World Bank, 2015 (2012 data); 5. Adults UNESCO; 2015; 6. Controlling for Education level and household income, World Wide Web Foundation, 2015; 7. World Bank, 2014; 8. BCG, 2014
Source: World Bank; ITU; Katz & Callorda; UNESCO; World Wide Web Foundation; BCG