Connectivity wins: how internet access changes lives

The internet can change lives. But having a connection is only the beginning.

For someone who has never had reliable internet access, being able to get online can mean finding information that was previously out of reach, learning a new skill, accessing an essential service, connecting with others, or discovering an opportunity they didn’t know existed.

But meaningful connectivity is about more than putting a signal where there wasn’t one before. People also need the skills, confidence and knowledge to use it safely and meaningfully.

Throughout 2025, projects supported by 48percent.org have been doing exactly that: bringing connectivity, digital skills and digital confidence closer to the people who need them most.

We recently shared some of these stories on our social channels. Here, we’re bringing them together to look at what these projects have in common, and what happens when connectivity becomes something people can actually use.

Going online brings both opportunities and risks.

In Nigeria, the Digital Citizenship and Online Safety Program, implemented by Webfala, worked with students, teachers and parents to build their knowledge of responsible and safe internet use.

More than 2,600 people took part in training covering topics including cyberbullying, data privacy and ethical online behaviour.

For young people in particular, learning how to navigate these challenges is an important part of digital inclusion. Being connected without knowing how to protect yourself online can leave people vulnerable. Digital skills therefore need to go hand in hand with digital safety.

The project is helping participants get online and feel more confident about what they encounter once they are there.

Connectivity becomes much more useful when people have the skills to make the most of it.

In rural Newlands, South Africa, Computer Aid International’s Embedding Digital Skills project provided community members with accredited digital literacy training. Participants learned how to use computers and online tools, building skills that can support them in accessing employment, education and community services.

This may sound straightforward, but for someone who has had limited opportunities to use digital tools, gaining these skills can make a meaningful difference.

Digital inclusion often starts with something as simple as becoming comfortable using a computer, searching for information or completing a task online independently.

In rural Chiapas, Mexico, the ConnectED Mexico initiative took a different approach.

Fifteen rural schools were connected to reliable Starlink internet, giving students and teachers access to digital learning resources and educational materials.

Through a locally managed resale model, around 8,000 people in surrounding communities can also benefit from affordable connectivity.

This is an important part of designing connectivity projects for long-term impact. A school can be an anchor for connectivity, but the benefits can extend much further when infrastructure and business models are designed with the wider community in mind.

The result is not simply fifteen schools with an internet connection. It is a wider community with greater opportunities to participate online.

Connectivity also becomes more meaningful when people have somewhere to use it.

In Nigeria, Zee Tech Foundation’s Digital Bridges project combined digital literacy training with a Starlink-powered learning center.

Students learned how to use digital tools and productivity software, while also learning how to navigate the internet safely and responsibly.

The learning center provides a physical space where people can access the internet and continue developing their skills. This combination of access, skills and a place to learn is important: each element reinforces the others.

In the Netherlands, the Digital Inclusion Pilot, carried out with various municipalities and social organizations, connected 50 households with affordable home internet and devices.

For the households involved, the difference could be found in everyday things: checking a bill, accessing government services, communicating with others or completing tasks online without having to depend on public Wi-Fi or mobile data.

These may not sound like dramatic changes. But when so much of everyday life happens online, being unable to participate can create barriers that are easy to underestimate.

The pilot also showed us something important about digital inclusion: access alone isn’t always enough. Personal guidance and a trusted point of contact helped participants overcome the barriers that had previously prevented them from asking for help or getting online.

You can read more about what we learned from the Digital Inclusion Pilot in our articles on the lessons from the project and its implications for the future of digital inclusion.

In Kenya’s Nyatike area, the Nyatike Community Network demonstrates what happens when connectivity is developed around the needs of a community.

The network expands affordable internet access to schools, health centers and public hotspots, while also providing digital skills training for women, young people and farmers.

A community network can become part of the local ecosystem through which people learn, work, communicate and access services.

The same principle can be seen in the Hello Hubs established by Hello World.

Around 1,200 people now benefit from access to connectivity and digital tools through community hubs in Nigeria. Importantly, community members have also been trained to build and maintain the hubs themselves.

Sustainable connectivity is not only about whether a community has internet access today. It is also about whether people have the knowledge and capacity to keep that access going tomorrow.

When communities are involved in maintaining the infrastructure they depend on, connectivity becomes something they can have a stake in, rather than something simply delivered to them.

Digital inclusion can also help challenge existing inequalities.

In rural communities, women can face additional barriers to accessing technology, education and economic opportunities. Providing connectivity and digital skills can therefore have an impact that reaches beyond the individual.

Through the Expanding the Rural Digital Ecosystem project, Fantsuam Foundation worked to strengthen digital participation among women in rural communities. Participants developed greater confidence in using digital tools for education, work and community engagement.

The goal is to increase the number of women who are online as well as create opportunities for women to use connectivity on their own terms; to develop skills, access information, strengthen livelihoods and participate more fully in their communities.

These projects take place in different countries, work with different communities and use different approaches. Some focus on infrastructure, others on digital literacy or online safety. Some establish community hubs, while others bring connectivity directly into people’s homes.

But there is a common thread. Connectivity is most powerful when it responds to what people actually need.

An internet connection can open the door, but people need the skills and confidence to walk through it. They need affordable access, relevant information and safe spaces to learn. They need infrastructure that can be maintained and, wherever possible, communities that have a role in shaping it.

A significant part of the impact happens after connectivity access: when a student can access information for their education, when a parent can safely navigate an online service, when a farmer can use digital tools to support their livelihood, or when a community has the knowledge to maintain its own network.

These are the moments that turn connectivity into meaningful digital inclusion.

Behind each number there is a person who can now do something that was previously more difficult or perhaps impossible.

The internet doesn’t change lives simply because people can connect to it. It changes lives because of what people can do once they are connected.

And these projects are showing, in different ways and in different places, what becomes possible when people have the access, skills and confidence to make the internet work for them. That is what makes connectivity worth investing in.