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Which would be harder for you to give up for a day: clean tap water or internet access? That was the provocative question the Estonian Women’s Voluntary Defence Organisation posed last year as part of its crisis preparedness campaign. In a world where 66% of people are online, spending an average of 6 hours and 40 minutes per day connected, the idea of being offline for 24 hours feels like a real challenge – and a reminder of the growing digital gap affecting those still without reliable access.
As Julia Gerda Sokk, coordinator at the educational startup PocoBit and head of Mondo’s Digital Competencies Programme points out that access to the internet has become as fundamental to daily life as electricity or running water. With a smartphone, we manage our lives, build businesses, learn new skills, and stay globally connected.
Estonia, often hailed as a Digital Tiger, exemplifies the power of digital infrastructure in shaping a resilient, forward-looking society. But in this digital-first world, those without the skills or access to participate risk being left behind.
Digital gap: nearly one-third of the global population does not use the internet
Even more concerning is the other side of internet usage statistics—34% of the world’s population did not use the internet last year. They lacked access, devices, and the skills needed to participate in the rapidly evolving digital world. This has created a divide within societies and between countries, generating new forms of deepening segregation—the digital divide. This divide exacerbates existing social, educational, cultural, and economic inequalities. Those who find themselves on the wrong side of the divide face setbacks economically, socially, and in healthcare, among other areas.
The digital divide is apparent when moving beyond Estonia on Google Maps. Here, I’ll give two examples of communities that Mondo works with.
In Estonia, just over six per cent of the population didn’t use the internet last year, compared to 73% in Uganda. Although Uganda aims to enhance digital skills among children and teachers these efforts fail to reach a significant part of the country, mainly rural areas, which are already struggling economically. Thus, the digital divide within societies continues to widen, despite the need for efforts directed towards poorer regions and marginalised groups.
Chalkboards won’t lead to digital success
“The world is changing. Soon, nobody will use chalk anymore, and we’ll fall behind,” says Jane, a student at Arua Teacher Education College who teaches at a rural school in Uganda and participated in Mondo’s digital skills training. This quote aptly describes the situation in Uganda, where fewer than 10% of schools have computer labs, and only about 5% of students have access to computers. In contrast, in Estonia, 97% of children used the internet daily in 2018, and questions about computer labs focus on their specifications, not their existence.
If computers are unavailable, smartphones could significantly narrow the digital divide. The digital story of African countries highlights the smartphone shift, rapidly transforming societies, economies, and lives. Smartphones are cheaper than computers, connect to mobile networks, and offer versatile uses, making them ideal for communities with unstable electricity and where larger, more expensive devices cannot reach.
According to Uganda’s census data from 2024, 43.3% of the population owned mobile phones. However, Mondo’s experience shows that not all these devices are smartphones. Indeed, many rural teachers attend digital skills training with basic mobile phones, fearful of breaking smartphone screens with just a touch.
Digital skills help adapt during crises
Another example is Lebanon, where digital skills become especially critical for people affected by crises, particularly refugees and internally displaced individuals.
Lebanon hosts around 1.7 million refugees, mainly from Syria. It’s clear that those forced to flee their home countries—especially women and children—need substantial support to succeed independently in unfamiliar environments. The local community also struggles to help refugees, as the severe socioeconomic crisis has resulted in over 80% of the population living below the official poverty line. Last year’s Israeli airstrikes displaced over one million people internally, many losing homes, jobs, and income.
Practical digital skills combined with entrepreneurial training can help individuals quickly and flexibly respond to such situations and even start successful businesses. This is precisely the case with women and youth who participated in last year’s Mondo programme, supported by the Estonian Centre for International Development Cooperation (ESTDEV). Women with the most promising business plans received small grants to start their businesses. One participant noted, “This programme opened doors I didn’t even know existed. With my crochet skills and new digital competencies, I transformed a hobby into a source of pride and income.”
Reducing the digital divide
I have many more examples of individuals who overcame challenging situations by developing digital skills. Last year, Mondo’s digital capability programme supported individuals in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Lebanon, and Ukraine, benefiting 1,250 refugee women, youth, and educational workers. Additionally, Ukrainian refugees in Estonia were supported in managing this digital nation. Our training emphasises skills and devices—especially smartphones—that help individuals steer the digital world safely and effectively. It is crucial that the programme provides practical skills and introduces innovative solutions that participants, including teachers for their students, can effectively utilise.
Basic digital skills and knowledge are the first steps towards creating equal opportunities in communities where people might not have heard of deepfakes or digital signatures. Overcoming this digital divide is everyone’s responsibility and opportunity, as even Estonia’s excellent digital solutions cannot be widely implemented elsewhere if local communities lack the skills to use them.
The digital world evolves rapidly, filled with exciting and beneficial solutions that risk leaving many communities behind. Estonia has the chance to share its knowledge in ways that ensure nobody is left out of this progress.
