Financial infrastructure to grow the internet
Connectivity Credits are the shared protocol for public and private financing of expanding internet to the whole world.
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Connectivity Credits enable exchange of public and private incentives automatically.
Grow the internet
Digital financing rails to bridge first mile to last mile
The digital divide is stuck in place as long as the small internet service providers that can operate at the margins cannot work easily with the large public funders and infrastructure companies that want them to grow into new markets.
Connectivity Credits is the fully open, automated protocol which makes it easy for billions of dollars in underused assets to flow between the small and large players growing connectivity markets.
Read more: 'Why the idea of Connectivity Credits is gaining momentum' (World Economic Forum, 2025)
Every unconnected institution - like a school, hospital or government building - is worth Credits, based on how much it helps to expand connectivity
Local internet service providers (ISPs) can plan their expansion to new areas based on institutions which have Credits available
As soon as they connect the institution, they earn Credits, and keep earning as long as they keep the connection
Local ISPs can exchange Credits for backhaul. Behind the scenes, this is financed by a blend of infrastructure companies, public and private investors.
Ready to grow with Connectivity Credits?
Connectivity Credits is in pilot mode during 2025. Join us as an ecosystem of public and private actors co-creating the future of this protocol.
FAQs
A Connectivity Credit is a digital record that an anchor institution (like a school) has received one day of meaningful connectivity to the internet.
It is generated based on real-time remote monitoring of internet connections of the institutions.
Underserved communities and institutions often don’t fit the traditional business case of internet providers. To make the economics add up in these areas, a number of adjustments are needed across the value chain.
In brief: small ISPs need easier access to capital, infra and anchor customers; infrastructure players need ways to monetize their under-utilized assets and access public incentives; governments need easier operations for working with small ISPs and guarantee results; financiers need a way to work with smaller players who may not have a track record or collateral.
Connectivity Credits is a unit of accounting so that these players can all contribute their part and get their reward, tied to results.
The Connectivity Credits platform coordinates anchor customers and ISPs.
Behind the scenes, the Connectivity Credits marketplace settles the exchange of incentives between infrastructure providers, governments, development banks and private investors.
Small, local ISPs are often best placed to operate – due to local relationships, local support, and lower margins. However, small ISPs often lack access to capital and access to contracts with anchor institutions due to government processes that are built for large volumes. Connectivity Credits make it easier for small ISPs to get anchor clients and infrastructure access so they can begin building their business in the area.
Infrastructure players (such as fiber companies, tower companies, satellite companies, data center companies) want to grow their customer base of ISPs, and their customers – people connected to the internet.
With Connectivity Credits, infrastructure companies give access to their infrastructure (e.g. backhaul) to local ISPs, so that the local ISP can build business in a new area.
In exchange, the infrastructure company receives the Connectivity Credits generated by the local ISP.
Infrastructure companies may decide to give access to infrastructure for Connectivity Credits at a below commercial rates, given their strategic interest in growing the market.
The infrastructure company can use these Credits to:
- Exchange with government for incentives such as discounting contributions to the Universal Service Fund, discounting corporate tax contributions, discounting spectrum license fees, fulfilment of social obligations and more (these will be country specific).
- Get access to other infrastructure companies’ assets (for example, a fiber provider getting access to compute in a data center), who in turn uses the Connectivity Credits for government incentives.
Connectivity Credits do not have a secondary market and cannot be bought and sold between companies.
Connectivity Credits is currently in pilot stage, in five countries.
We are gradually rolling out Connectivity Credits in more countries. To start a new country, it is necessary to have government and infrastructure provider involvement. If you are one of them and are interested in using Connectivity Credits, we’d love to hear from you and explore if we can support you.
Connectivity Credits is being designed as an open protocol with involvement from the beginning of multiple partners. If you are interested in joining and shaping the initiative, we’d love to hear from you.