CANCELLED Lecture: Digital Empowerment: The Story of How We Covered the Last Mile of Digital Inclusion in India

India's journey toward digital empowerment is a remarkable story of overcoming socio-economic and geographical barriers. Spanning vast rural and underserved areas, initiatives for digital inclusion have aimed to connect the unconnected and democratise access to information and services.

Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF)*, has been crucial in bridging the digital divide. By establishing community information resource centres, digital literacy campaigns, and trainings, these efforts have reached the most remote corners of the country. The last mile of digital inclusion has seen challenges like low literacy rates, lack of infrastructure, and socio-cultural divides. However, grassroots efforts—ranging from mobile-based education and e-governance services to internet-enabled livelihood opportunities—have transformed villages into digitally empowered communities. Today, millions of people have access to essential services such as healthcare, education, banking, and government schemes via digital platforms. 

The success of India's digital inclusion journey demonstrates that technology, when applied inclusively and sustainably, can catalyze widespread social and economic development. The Digital Empowerment Foundation, in the last 23 years, has expanded into 27 states of India, with broadband enabled digital infrastructure serving 35 million people who had never been meaningfully connected. DEF has also impacted several policies like National Digital Literacy Mission, Common Service Centres, de-licensing ISP through PM-WANI, Sustaining Net Neutrality, Banning Free Basics in India, etcetera.

In this lecture Osama Manzar, the co-founder of Digital Empowerment Foundation, will walk us through these efforts of digital inclusion, and how it created a fertile ground for the FinTech and financial empowerment of communities especially of women in rural India.