Priyanka Bose

Indian social entrepreneur bridging digital divide through rural education initiatives

Priyanka Bose (born 1985) is the founder of Digital Empowerment Foundation, an organization that has:

• Connected over 10,000 rural Indian villages to internet services
• Trained 250,000+ women in digital literacy through Digital Equalizer programs
• Developed the Gram Marg platform for agricultural information sharing

Her pioneering work includes:

• Creating India's first rural Wi-Fi network in 2012
• Developing the Women Weave the Web initiative training 50,000 women as digital mentors
• Establishing the Open Defecation Free campaign using SMS-based reporting systems

She co-founded the Connecting the Unconnected coalition, which has:

• Built 500+ community internet hubs
• Produced the Gram Marg app used by 1.2 million farmers

Her advocacy led to India's Neeti Aayog including digital literacy in national education policy. In 2021, she was awarded the World Summit Award for digital inclusion innovations.