The World Bank showcases new white paper on DPI as it seeks to accelerate digital transformation

The World Bank has a new digital transformation white paper that underlines what it believes digital public infrastructure (DPI) should consist of and sets out core approaches to building DPI.

Over the years aspects of what constitutes digital public infrastructure may have been watered down, lost in a haze of buzzwords, or subverted to the extent that some so-called DPI initiatives might be what a Filipino government official recently dubbed “digital pretension.”

The new white paper from The World Bank Group (WBG) should be seen in the context of refreshing what DPI should stand for, providing a high-level overview, whilst staking the organization, which has been a crucial driver of global DPI initiatives especially in developing countries, as a key player helping to support DPI programs. It is also a part of The World Bank’s recent mandate to “move faster and think bigger” to bring about digital transformation.

The Digital Public Infrastructure and Development: A World Bank Group Approach white paper is 79 pages long and provides a framework for understanding and implementing DPI to accelerate “safe and inclusive digital transformation.” The paper provides a common framework and primer on DPI for “high-level considerations” such as those by policymakers, practitioners, WBG staff, and the development community.

The World Bank defines DPI as “foundational, digital building block for the public benefit” and that both the public and private sector can provide DPI. Examples of how DPI can benefit include faster and more efficient government-to-person (G2P) payments; improved financial inclusion; improved healthcare delivery, disease surveillance and public health interventions; better access to services, markets, and information for agriculture.

The World Bank emphasizes a “broader” digital ecosystem that goes beyond technology but which relies on technology enablers such as broadband connectivity, devices, data centers and cloud, alongside digitalization of systems across sectors. Meanwhile, DPI functionality means systems should “embed” principles such as inclusion, openness, modularity, inclusivity, user-centricity, privacy-by-design, and strong governance.

“Successfully developing and deploying DPIs requires broader ecosystem enablers, including whole-of-society digital transformation strategies; legal and regulatory frameworks for data governance, protection, and e-transactions; strong cybersecurity capacity; sound governance and oversight; and efforts to build digital literacy and skills across the public and private sector,” the white paper says.

It observes that the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the value of DPI as those countries with existing DPIs were able to deliver emergency assistance faster and more effectively. But there are challenges: DPI requires strong and sustained political commitment, meaningful and frequent stakeholder engagement, institutional and technical capacity, and comprehensive legal and regulatory frameworks. Any outdated legacy systems must be overcome whilst digital literacy (and traditional literacy) might present issues; cybersecurity and data privacy and protection are serious matters.

But The World Bank Group’s new Global DPI Program is aimed at addressing key knowledge gaps and supporting countries in building “safe, inclusive, and transformative DPI.” The full white paper, which contains examples and case studies from various countries, can be viewed as a PDF on this page.

DPI for resilience in fragile contexts 

The Brookings Institution has detailed five approaches to balancing state capacity and citizen protection so that essential services can be delivered in fragile contexts.

Brookings convened a virtual roundtable, hosted in partnership with Co-Develop, which gathered digital transformation stakeholders to identify priority aspects of DPI’s technical design, investment, regulation and governance in fragile contexts. There was focus on case studies in Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Sudan, and the conversation honed in on five “mutually reinforcing approaches” to advancing DPI’s potential as a backbone for resilience in fragile contexts.

The five approaches are: pursue harmonization of technical standards between humanitarian- and state-led systems; nurture locally led DPI ecosystems; leverage available technical foundations to address citizen needs; regulate for certainty and competition; foster proactive stakeholder collaboration. The full commentary can be read here.

Roundtable participants included representatives from MOSIP, Uplift Afghanistan, London School of Economics, USAID, Co-Develop, UN Capital Development Fund, Mojaloop Foundation, The Brookings Institution, Digital Impact Alliance, UNDP Sudan, among others.

Integrating DPI, Afreximbank’s role in Africa’s economic landscape

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has a round-up of its mission, its flagship initiatives, and how its integration of DPI is reshaping Africa’s economic landscape as of late March 2025. Afreximbank notes that it is increasingly leveraging DPI to “amplify its impact.”

For example, it includes a look at the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which was developed with the African Union (AU), is a “cornerstone of DPI in Africa,” according to the bank. “This digital infrastructure aligns with global DPI models like India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), offering a scalable solution for Africa’s fragmented financial systems and supporting the AfCFTA’s projected 50 percent boost to intra-African trade by 2030,” the summary reads. The report can be read here.

Meanwhile, on Africa.com there is a feature story on “Unlocking Africa’s Future: The Case for Digital Public Infrastructure” where the authors make their case, which can be read here.

Future of Government Awards 2025

Amazon Web Services, the United Nations Development Programme and Public Digital have announced the recipients of the Future of Government Awards 2025, which champions practitioners, teams, and leaders who improve people’s lives by applying digital solutions and leverage technology to transform the public sector.

The organizers observed that this year’s awards saw a “surge” in nominations for DPI initiatives, while there was a record of 336 nominations received from more than 50 countries in the third year the awards have run.

In the Open Source Creation category, the winner was DHIS2 from Norway, an open-source data management platform that provides a customizable, reusable solution for health information systems. Highly commended were Energy Access Explorer, Mojaloop, and MOSIP.

Receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award was Nandan Nilekani from India. The co-founder of Infosys, Nilekani was the founding chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), where he spearheaded Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric identity program.

You can read the full list of winners here.

Article Topics

Amazon Web Services (AWS)  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  government services  |  identity management  |  World Bank