Priya Soman

Indian social entrepreneur empowering women through digital literacy programs

Priya Soman (b. 1990) is the driving force behind India's largest rural digital literacy initiative, Digital Edge Foundation, launched in 2022. Her "Tech Sarovar" program has trained over 250,000 rural women across 14 states to use smartphones and basic coding skills, creating a pipeline of tech-literate workers for India's growing IT sector. Soman's innovative "Gram Padhai" app provides subsidized access to online courses in regional languages like Hindi and Tamil. In 2024, she received the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Award for her work bridging the digital divide. Her initiative has also spun off 47 women-led tech startups in underserved areas, demonstrating how digital inclusion drives economic empowerment.