The creation of jobs is crucial to further reduce worldwide poverty and support hope in poor communities, yet many of the world's poorest people are still excluded from the opportunities available in a growing digital economy. Although mobile phones are now available to most people, access to computers and the internet remains very unevenly distributed. About 16% of people living in extreme poverty have internet access, but very few of them own a computer. Many poorer households [including those in the low or lower-middle class categories] continue to remain offline. Through being offline, these households will continue to be restricted from taking advantage of all the opportunities that digitalization provides.

Excluding these digital inefficiencies has real-world implications. As evidenced by a wealth of research, digital connectivity offers significant opportunities for increasing job availability and wage levels, productivity levels, and household welfare via access to technology.

Examples of enhanced digital connectivity leading people into higher-quality jobs, improving agricultural pricing, and significantly increasing female participation in the labor force can be found in multiple countries throughout the world. However, these benefits primarily accrue to individuals who currently have access to digital technologies, perpetuating the digital divide.

Some of the barriers to digital access include the high cost of broadband subscriptions, lack of electricity access, low levels of digital literacy, and limited ability of rural populations and less-educated households to afford the same. Given that most of the world's extreme poor are employed in agriculture and with a projected one billion youth joining the workforce, creating equal access to digital technologies will be essential to fulfilling the promise of economic growth by creating job opportunities and reducing poverty.