Digital equity is about much more than just internet access.

It’s making sure everybody has the tools and digital literacy to realize technologies to their full potential, opening opportunities to participate in the digital economy. However, one-third of the global population remains offline, costing the world billions of dollars in lost GDP each year.

When it comes to closing gaps in digital equity, businesses and governments are both making it a priority. Increasing access to digital education is among the top goals for business executives and government officials. In fact, 86 per cent of governments and 51 per cent of businesses say their sectors are most responsible for spearheading this initiative, according to a new study between HP and Oxford Economics.

When we zero in on Canada, our country has persistent inequalities among Indigenous and rural communities and other marginalized groups, with targeted efforts to bridge connectivity gaps. The federal government set a goal of connecting 98 per cent of Canadians to highspeed internet by 2026 and 100 per cent by 2030, a goal it is on target to meet yet recent research shows 61 per cent of Indigenous Canadians do not have adequate high speed internet access, which is essential to everyday life. 

Earlier this year, HP launched its annual Sustainable Impact Report, demonstrating progress in accelerating digital equity for more than 45 million people since 2021. This brings us nearly a third of the way to our goal of reaching 150 million people by 2030, which is a direct result of innovative partnerships with key organizations that have created tailored solutions for communities.

Launching HP’s Digital Equity Accelerator in Canada

People without access to technology and digital fluency are increasingly locked out of economic and social opportunities. HP’s Digital Equity Accelerator helps nonprofits that are working to advance digital inclusion, scale their impact. Since 2022, the Digital Equity Accelerator has served 17 nonprofit organizations across six countries, helping increase the reach of participating organizations by 8.1 million. 

In April, HP launched the program in Canada, selecting three local nonprofits, Access to Success Organization, Chapter One Canada and the Jays Care Foundation to participate in the 2024 cohort based on their service to historically disconnected groups through literacy, education and more. By partnering with a range of local organizations and providing funding, HP technology and virtual training and expertise, HP can expand our digital inclusion across diverse community groups.

• Access to Success Organization: As Canada’s leading accelerator for accessibility startup businesses, HP is supporting the Toronto-based not-for-profit to open its Centre for Accessibility Innovation in 2025. This unique, in-person co-working hub will offer masterclasses and hardware for accessibility technology-focused entrepreneurs to continue developing innovations to serve the community. 
  
  
• Chapter One Canada: Every year in Canada, 100,000 children finish Grade 3 unable to read at grade level, making them 4X less likely to graduate high school. Chapter One, a global nonprofit, uses innovative technology to close this reading gap, offering proven 1:1 reading support to children in underserved and remote Indigenous communities, where the issue is particularly acute. With HP's support, Chapter One is tripling the number of Indigenous children benefiting from high-impact tutoring via smartphone, and doubling the readership of original children's storybooks on the Global Free Library.
  
  
• Jays Care Foundation: The charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays uses baseball to give kids a place on a team where they belong, developing programs that support healing, build resilience and tackle social isolation. The foundation is establishing a comprehensive and accessible e-learning platform that hosts modules and videos for coaches and educators across Canada. The resources from the HP Digital Equity Accelerator will fuel the training scalability and foster equitable access in local communities.

Building the future Canadian workforce amid the rise of AI

There is a strong level of enthusiasm among global leaders to use technology, including AI, to advance key impact goals and if we’re not intentional, AI could drive a larger wedge in the digital divide. According to the HP report, three out of four leaders believe technology is key to expanding economic opportunity (76%) and that AI will help drive progress towards sustainability and social impact goals (76%).

Equitable access to opportunity and outcome-based learning experiences are key to building skills for work and participation in society. Skills-building is a core piece of HP’s digital equity approach, which has grown its goal to enroll 2.75 million users in the free skills-building program HP LIFE. This program, from the HP Foundation, has already enrolled and enabled more than 1.2 million users to access economic opportunities or start businesses, a strong foundation for HP’s other initiatives to use as a catalyst to expand responsible access and use of AI.

• Expand our free HP LIFE Digital Business Skills courses by releasing a new course on AI skills later this year.
• Kick-off the HP AI in Social Impact Award, which provides technology designed for building and running AI applications to social entrepreneurs and organizations that use AI to advance education, healthcare, and economic opportunities in communities globally.
• Debut commercial and consumer Next-Gen AI PCs to market as a new category of devices crafted for work and creation.

Leveraging technology as a force for good

Sustainability is a team effort, exemplified by the powerful network we’ve been able to grow both here in Canada and around the world to empower our future leaders. While we may be Canada’s most sustainable technology company, our Sustainable Impact journey is rarely linear. It is rather one of continuous improvement, where each solution – no matter how incremental – contributes to the collective effort of building a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable future for all.

To learn more about HP Canada’s progress with expanding technology access, visit hp.com/ca-en/hp-information/sustainable-impact.