The additional funding will support internet access, digital literacy, and workforce pathways, including community partnerships in the Philippines.
Equinix has committed an additional USD50 million to the Equinix Foundation, doubling the company’s total investment in the philanthropic initiative four years after its launch in 2022.
The new funding is intended to expand the Foundation’s work in digital access, skills development, and workforce readiness. Since launch, the Foundation has awarded grants to 100 nonprofit partners across 48 metropolitan areas worldwide, and in 2025 alone, those organizations helped connect more than 3.5 million people to the internet.
“For nearly 30 years, Equinix has grown by earning the trust of the communities where we operate,” said Adaire Fox-Martin, CEO and president of Equinix and a member of the Foundation board. She said the expanded investment is intended to give more people access to skills and opportunities tied to the jobs of the future.
Three areas of focus
The Equinix Foundation will continue to concentrate on three main areas: connectivity and digital infrastructure, digital literacy and skill building, and workforce readiness and resilience.
The first area focuses on expanding reliable internet access in digitally underserved communities. The second centers on building digital skills for people of different ages, while the third aims to create technical career pathways connected to the data center industry for adults seeking greater economic opportunity.
The Foundation also works with Equinix customers and alliance partners, including Cisco and HPE, to co-fund initiatives. It additionally supports infrastructure and climate-related projects tied to next-generation data center technologies.
New leadership for the Foundation
Equinix has appointed Aslıhan Güreşcier, vice president for Growth and Emerging Markets, EMEA, as the new president of the Equinix Foundation.
Güreşcier will lead the next phase of the Foundation’s growth as it scales programs focused on access, skills, and workforce development. “Throughout my career, I’ve seen the ways digital technology and infrastructure can lift up communities and improve people’s lives,” she said, adding that the Foundation will continue working to expand access to new opportunities.
Measurable results from the first four years
Equinix says the Foundation’s first four years have already produced measurable results. In 2025, its nonprofit portfolio connected more than 3.5 million people to the internet, reached over 1.6 million people with digital literacy and skills training, and trained more than 900 people for digital infrastructure roles.
The Foundation is also building talent pipelines into the data center industry through Pathways to Tech, a program for students aged 14 to 18. The initiative uses school visits, data center tours, and education days led by 120 certified employee volunteer ambassadors. Since launch, it has reached more than 1,300 students across 24 locations worldwide.
Partnership with International Youth Foundation
To expand Pathways to Tech, the Foundation has entered into a new partnership with the International Youth Foundation. The organization brings 35 years of youth workforce-development experience across more than 100 countries.
The two groups will work together to create a scalable model for bringing Pathways to Tech into additional markets. The aim is to make technical career exposure more accessible to young people in communities where opportunities in digital infrastructure may otherwise be limited.
“Every young person deserves the chance to see a future for themselves in the industries shaping our world,” said Christina Sass, president and CEO of the International Youth Foundation. She said the partnership is intended to help the program reach thousands more students globally.
Philippine partnership through Kadakareer
The Foundation’s global partner network includes Kadakareer, a community-based platform in the Philippines that helps underserved Filipino students pursue careers in the digital economy.
The collaboration focuses on coaching, skills training, and employment pathways intended to help students build the practical experience needed to enter the technology sector. This gives the Equinix Foundation’s global program a direct local connection to youth employability and digital-skills development in the Philippines.
Other current partners include Per Scholas, unconnected.org, UNICEF Digital Inclusion through its Giga program, YUVA Unstoppable in India, and the Enterprise Development Centre at Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria.
Building a broader digital opportunity ecosystem
Equinix is positioning the Foundation as more than a traditional grantmaking program. By bringing together employees, nonprofit organizations, customers, and alliance partners, the company is attempting to build a wider ecosystem around digital access and workforce development.
That model reflects the close relationship between digital infrastructure and employability. As data centers, cloud platforms, AI systems, and connected services expand, the workforce needed to build and operate that infrastructure also has to grow. The Foundation’s programs are designed to address both sides of that equation: expanding access to connectivity while also helping more people build the skills needed to participate in the digital economy.