Developing nations who are provisioning digital public infrastructure ecosystems are focused ahead to achieving efficiency and financial inclusion, without fully appreciating the importance of collaboration to divert governance issues.
DPI systems encompass foundational infrastructure and data-sharing systems that shape state- citizens relations, comprising of digital identity, payment systems, and data-exchange platforms. With small sized countries building their own modular national identity and digital infrastructure, overarching standards and the influence of stakeholders is vitally important to ensure DPI preserves human rights.
A study of the state of DPI deployment across Africa suggests that countries are moving towards interconnected identity, payment, and data-exchange systems, though they vary significantly in scale and institutional control. The maturity disparities occur regarding relatively mature digital identity systems across several countries compared to data-exchange systems that remain the least developed, least transparent, and most unevenly implemented layer.
As countries rapidly implement DPI, governance often becomes an oversight as states prioritise supply-side outcomes over fundamental human rights, the research suggests in the State of Internet Freedom in Africa 2026 Report. The governance gaps could have implications on human rights and democratic governance as public administrations become more advanced. The report calls for more frameworks to understand the governance issues of DPI and how to collaborate with tech providers, which can have a direct influence on public and private services that are designed properly.
Countries like South Africa, Egypt, and Ghana lead in digital maturity indices, whereas nations like Ethiopia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe lag behind in digital penetration and democratic governance.
Governance depends on particular systems, their scale and maturity which create system risks. For example, conditioning essential public and private services on mandatory digital verification creates risks of exclusion for vulnerable populations.
Interoperability across previously siloed databases also increases state visibility and data-sharing, but heightens risks of authorised access in environments with weak oversight.
