Communities

Digital Poverty Alliance

Currys partnered with the Learning Foundation in 2021 to launch the Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) as a Founding Partner, a project that quickly grew into a leading initiative. In 2024, the Learning Foundation officially became the Digital Poverty Alliance, reflecting its success and impact.

We’re proud of our role in enabling them to convene, compel and inspire collaboration within the UK community to lead sustainable action against digital poverty. We continue to be an active and engaged member of the DPA’s work, providing advice and support on strategy, events and reports. 2024 saw the appointment of Moira Thomas, our Group Sustainability & ESG Director, to the DPA’s Board of Trustees.

We also signed the DPA’s Charter for Digital Inclusion; a call to action for organisations across the private, public, and third sectors to embed digital inclusivity into their daily operations. By signing the Charter, we have committed to the following impactful actions:

• Raising awareness: Amplifying colleagues’ and customers’ understanding of digital poverty and its extensive impacts.
• Digital Skills Development: Providing resources and training to enhance digital literacy and skills across our workforce and communities.
• Partnerships for Impact: Collaborating with other organisations to maximise efforts and achieve greater impact.

Read more about the DPA’s Charter for Digital Inclusion on their website at https://digitalpovertyalliance.org/charter-digital-inclusion/

Read more about our work on digital poverty in the 2024/25 Annual Report.

Tech4Families

It’s never been more important to make sure families can get online. One way we’re doing this is to help families who need a laptop to get one. In December 2024 we celebrated 2 million individual customer donations to the DPA though Pennies since launching Tech4Families in May 2022.

Over the last three years of working together, we have raised over £750k through Pennies. 10% of the donations made at the point of sale in Currys stores directly support Pennies to grow the microdonation movement, the remaining 90% funds Tech4Families. The scheme was shortlisted for The Responsible Retailer Award at the Retail Week Awards 2025 for the second year running.

In February 2025, the government announced the launch of their Digital inclusion Action Plan, setting out five key actions to tackle digital inclusion. We are delighted to support them in this work and in June 2025 were one of the first signatories to the Government’s IT Reuse for Good Charter. We will now be boosting the number of laptops provided through our Tech4Families scheme by allocated refurbished corporate devices.

Find out more about Tech4Families, including how to apply, at https://digitalpovertyalliance.org/tech4families/

To find out why the scheme is so impactful, we launched a short video case study highlighting the difference that laptops provided through Tech4Families has made to the lives of families in the UK. To watch:

All Digital Weeks on Partnering for Impact: How Collaboration Drives Digital Inclusion:

Jennifer Neely, Development Manager at the Digital Poverty Alliance, and Catrin Hale, Group Social Impact Manager at Currys, talk about our shared experience of Tech4Families and reflect on how businesses and charities can partner together to deliver scalable programmes of support for digital inclusion.

Digital Empowerment: The Tech4Families Initiative and Its National Impact:

Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance talks to Dr Becky Faith, Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and Catrin Hale, Group Social Impact Manager at Currys, about the significant findings of the DPA’s research into our Tech4Families scheme, which sheds light on the persistent digital divide in the UK and its profound effects on children’s education.

Digital Skills Development

In 2025 we launched a pilot to increase our impact by providing corporate colleagues in the UK & Ireland with the opportunity to volunteer their skills and time with local organisations on charitable, community-based projects tackling digital poverty. We are working with Neighbourly, a social platform that helps charities and community groups connect with companies who are looking to make a positive impact.

Local Fundraising

Community fundraising is encouraged right across Currys, and each year our colleagues support many causes which resonate locally.

Our UK&I Retail colleagues have climbed, ran, cycled, dressed up and completed incredible challenges to raise thousands of pounds for charities important to them.

Fighting digital exclusion in the Nordics

Elkjøp Nordic is using our position and role in society to fight digital exclusion. We work to raise awareness, increase knowledge, and enable access for people who are falling behind in the rapid development of technology.

To connect, play or learn with technology should be easy and fun but that is not always the case.

Our annual research in the Nordics, Tech Trouble, enables us to keep track of customer challenges:

• 1 in 3 in the Nordic region think technological development is happening so fast that it is difficult to keep up
• 35% think that the price of technology makes it difficult to keep up.
• 25% believe unequal access to technology is creating an increased class divide.

That is why we support organisations and associations with products and guidance – in addition to financial resources.

The support we provide is based both on an open application process and long-term partnerships for local, national and global initiatives, including a key focus on combating digital poverty.

Examples include:

• Elkjøp Norway has supported 32 organisations across the whole country after receiving 171 applications for the total of 1 million NOK in funding. This involves organisations supporting both youngsters and elderly to reduce digital exclusion.
• Working with Danish people aid, Elgiganten Denmark held a Support Weeks campaign instore, where we offered 30 minutes of free technical support to all customers. This came from insights from the annual Tech Trouble report, showing that especially older people struggle with using their technology. The purpose of the campaign was to bring some attention to digital exclusion and to our insights into this challenge.
• Elgiganten Sweden is the main partner of the nonprofit organization Stiftelsen Läxhjälpen, supporting their Homework Help program, which helps students in vulnerable areas pass primary school and obtain a high school qualification. In 2024/25, we donated tablets to help voluntary teachers more easily manage their classes.
• In Finland, Gigantti continued the cooperation with Huippula, a part of Save the children working to educate children on digital skills and inclusion.