Governing Digital Public Infrastructure for Rights and Equity in Africa
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), which includes digital identification systems, mobile payments, and data-sharing platforms, has become central to Africa’s digital transformation agenda. Although DPI is frequently framed as a means of improving efficiency and expanding access to essential services, its current implementation across the continent reveals a widening disconnect between technological ambition and social reality. Women, ethnic minorities, gender-diverse communities, and other underrepresented groups often experience DPI not as an enabler of inclusion, but as an additional barrier to participation. This policy brief argues that rights-respecting and equity-focused governance is essential if DPI is to advance, rather than undermine, social justice.