Open-source software for DPI market still largely underdeveloped, research finds

Open-source software (OSS) adoption for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) still lags behind proprietary technology not because it is immature, but because the market around it remains mostly underdeveloped.

This is according to a research paper by the Digital Impact Alliance titled Why Open Source Lags Behind: Lessons for DPI Adoption in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In a context where many countries in the LAC region and other parts of the world are increasingly implementing DPI systems, one would have expected stronger adoption of OSS which is freely available and also technically mature for that purpose. That’s paradoxically not the case.

Going by the paper, proprietary systems are more solicited because vendors have stronger incentives, sales teams, and support structures to push adoption, while OSS lacks sustainable funding, promotion, and accountability mechanisms.

Without these factors in place which is what governments need to adopt OSS with trust and confidence, they have no other option than to go for vendor locked-in systems which are comparatively costlier and less supportive of digital sovereignty, the paper states.

The paper gathered its findings from interviews with regional policymakers and ecosystem actors, as well as insights from a workshop during the 2025 UN Open-Source Week.

As highlighted by the paper, there is a growing interest and traction for OSS because of their advantages which include factors such as privacy, interoperability, inclusion, transparency, cost savings, efficiency, and reduced dependency on external vendors.

But despite all these merits, governments still worry about questions of sustainability of the systems in terms of who will maintain them, guarantee service continuity, or provide support if problems arise, as well as the confidence gap and a lack of strong ecosystemic incentives.

To change the reality and increase the preference for OSS, the paper calls for the putting in place of conditions that make it easier for potential customers to find, trust, and adopt such open-source platforms.

It also underlines the need for “targeted interventions” to strengthen the OSS ecosystem by involving system integrators, donors, governments and other partners, as well as the importance of rebalancing procurement incentives, and making OSS solutions as readily adoptable as proprietary ones, while preserving their values of openness, transparency, collaboration, accessibility, interoperability, and sovereignty.

MOSIP blazing the OSS trail

Bangalore-headquartered Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) is about the most globally recognized OSS which is increasingly being adopted by governments for DPI projects like digital ID.

As of this year, MOSIP-based digital ID systems are either being piloted or implemented at scale in about 26 countries around the world, with its largest implementation so far in the Philippines.  A majority of MOSIP-implementing countries are in Africa.

Ethiopia’s digital ID is also MOSIP-based. In a recent interview with Biometric Update, the head of the Ethiopia National ID Program (NIDP), Yodahe Zemichael, highlighted the importance of using OSS systems and its impact on tech transparency and sovereignty.

Apart from MOSIP, Mojaloop is another OSS designed to enable interoperable and inclusive instant payment systems.

It is being used to advance financial inclusion initiative sin countries like Rwanda and Philippines.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Caribbean  |  Digital Impact Alliance  |  digital public infrastructure  |  Latin America  |  Mojaloop Foundation  |  MOSIP (Modular Open Source Identity Platform)  |  open source  |  vendor lock-in