DEF has worked since 2002 towards empowering people in rural India where the vast majority
of Indians live, to help them gain access to healthcare, education, skills and livelihood
opportunities through digital literacy and tools. They make technology accessible to women,
youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities. They work to provide digital literacy, media
literacy and digital upskilling across agriculture, health, education, livelihood and entrepreneurial
skills. They are creating a network of Community Information Resource Centres to provide a
range of services in education, governance, health, livelihood, finance, and to allow
marginalized communities to access information and entitlement services, where and when they
need it.

What excites us about their work:

• Bringing access to ICT and building digital literacy at scale to areas of India that are ‘dark regions’ in terms of access to ICT tools
• Using ICT to enable access to welfare programmes and opportunities and educating rural communities on how ICT can empower them on various levels.
• Building a knowledge toolkit and network of digital practitioners and innovations to help create partnerships
• This approach will help reach the 75% of rural Indians who do not have access to the internet
• By providing digital literacy and skilling, the recipients will have been able to access entitlements and opportunities in health, livelihood, entertainment, and financial inclusion.