50-in-5 campaign celebrates new DPI milestones, more members join

Representatives from the 26 countries which are a part of the 50-in-5 campaign attended an event Tuesday September 22 in New York to celebrate their strides in the joint implementing of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

The 50-in-5 initiative, launched in November 2023, is a collaborative platform which aims to enable at 50 countries of the Global South role out at least one component of DPI in a safe, inclusive and interoperable manner by 2028.

Its membership has grown over the last two years, and so the brains behind the idea thought it was worthwhile meeting on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80) to count their gains and also strategize on the next steps of that important journey.

Dubbed “DPI Cooperation in Motion,” Tuesday’s event was marked by panel discussions which served as a moment for experience-sharing, with real world examples of DPI in the spotlight. The panels featured about 17 speakers and moderators drawn from several ends of the globe.

DPI in West Africa

The West Africa panel included the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy of Nigeria, Bosun Tijani; Togo’s Digital Economy and Digital Transformation Minister, Cina Lawson, and the Minister of Communications, Technology and Innovation of Sierra Leone, Salima Bah.

The trio shared about the efforts being made by their countries in deploying digital ID, and DPI programs, explaining the strides, challenges and perspectives.

Bah started off the exchange by emphasizing the importance of regional cooperation in Africa’s DPI journey. She noted that Sierra Leone, as a co-founder of the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA), sees DPI as a vehicle for accelerating transformation, but stressed that this must be done in a collaborative manner.

“Too often, solutions are created for us rather than with us. We need governments and regional actors to collaborate more closely, and we also need to strengthen local capacity so that more people in our region can develop digital public goods,” she stated.

She added: “In Sierra Leone, we’ve established a Digital Public Goods (DPG) pipeline to address the gap between innovators, funders, and solution owners. This was launched at the Sierra Leone Innovation Tech Summit, and while it began as a national initiative, we see it as a platform that can be scaled across Africa.”

To Nigeria’s Tijani, DPI has the potential to bridge the gap between citizens and government, citing India as an inspiration that is also pushing his country to position itself as a leader in cross-border identity and data exchange systems.

“We are championing digital trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). A key opportunity lies in enabling cross-border trust. For example, how can a Sierra Leonean entrepreneur easily do business in Nigeria with verified credentials?” Tijani asked.

“While countries want to maintain their own databases, we can design a data exchange system that confirms identities across borders,” he suggested.

He went ahead to cite his country’s expanding digital ID landscape as an asset. “Nigeria already has one of the world’s largest digital ID systems with about 130 million people enrolled, and one of the most advanced interbank settlement systems in Africa. But the challenge is to integrate these into a framework that enables innovation.”

Tijani also disclosed Nigeria’s plan of joining the Digital Public Goods Alliance, and that they plan to leverage open technologies such as X-Road from Estonia.

Speaking about Togo, Lawson said they wanted an inclusive system and so opted for the MOSIP open-source platform for the rollout of a national digital identity which is being implemented.

She explained that the ID is free, requires no proof of citizenship, and is designed for the poorest populations, making it a foundational tool for social protection and cross-border access to services.

Lawson also mentioned their collaborative efforts, and noted that they’ve been engaging with some of their neighbors including Benin, Burkina Faso, and Senegal to ensure interoperability of their ID systems, which would make everyday life easier for citizens who move across borders.

“This is especially important for border communities where people often live, study, or seek healthcare across different countries. An interoperable ID will allow citizens to access services in both Togo and neighboring nations, including social protection and healthcare,” Lawson noted.

“More broadly, Africa is moving into a mindset of solving its own issues. By adopting and building on open-source platforms, we give our developers the freedom to adapt technologies and create solutions that meet local needs. As I often say, this is the Africa we want, one where we are creators, not just users.”

LATAM, East Africa panels

Other panels involved digital ministers and other speakers who shared their DPI experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean, and East Africa.

One of the speakers of in the East Africa segment was the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Veronica Nduva, who in a co-authored article last year, emphasized the importance of secure, safe and interoperable DPI in driving digital trade across Africa.

Safeguards, a critical aspect of DPI

In the last segment of the meeting, the focus was on how nations can implement DPI safeguards, an initiative fronted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

“Safeguards are the heartbeat of DPI. They ensure that digital transformation empowers rather than excludes,” said Sanjay Purohit, DPI Safeguards advisory board member & CEO of Center for Exponential Change, who moderated the panel.

“Far from being a compliance checkbox, they foster trust amongst users, farmers, citizens, and businesses. They fuel operational efficiency through interoperable systems, and spark innovation by inviting diverse stakeholders to co-create solutions. Safeguards are not a reactive burden, but a proactive driver essential for DPI to deliver on its promise of equitable prosperity,” he said.

“So, safeguards are the foundation of equitable access, breaking down barriers like language, literacy, and socioeconomic status to ensure marginalized groups, rural farmers, indigenous communities, and women are fully included in DPI benefits.”

New commitments to 50-in-5

Beyond reviewing DPI gains from the different panels, the UNGA 80 sideline meeting was also a moment for some countries to make their entry into the initiative, while some old members made new commitments.

The Minister of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence of Trinidad and Tobago, Dominic Alexander Smith, announced during the Latin America & Caribbean panel that “Trinidad has actually just joined the 50-in-5 and so thank you, and we’re very, very proud of that.”

France, through its Ambassador for Digital Affairs, Henri Verdier, announced it was joining the Digital Public Goods Alliance, which aligns with the 50-in-5 campaign.

Speaking on behalf of South Africa, the Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, also confirmed the country’s commitment to the 50-in-5 campaign through its Mzanzi initiative which seeks to introduce a unified digital ID system to facilitate access to government services.

Article Topics

50-in-5  |  digital public goods  |  digital public infrastructure  |  UNDP  |  United Nations