Experts re-echo need for African countries to strengthen DPI sovereignty

There is a growing necessity for African countries to have greater control over their Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), despite getting most of their project funding and technical expertise from external sources like international donors, multilateral institutions and even technology companies.

That need is even more vital and urgent given the emergence of technologies like AI which risk plunging these countries into considerable harm if they do not play an active role in how these technologies are developed and deployed in their territories.

Devex reports that these reflections on the importance of African DPI sovereignty came up prominently during the 2025 Global DPI Summit which took place last month in Cape Town, South Africa.

The development publication echoes views by The Gates Foundation’s Director of Digital Public Infrastructure, Sanjay Jain, who stated that it is time for donors to shift from just offering digital aid to helping nations achieve digital empowerment.

“That’s why the foundation and our partners have focused on developing tools and technical assistance that put countries in control,” Jain said at the DPI Summit as quoted by Devex.

One of the ways of achieving such control is by using open-source software (OSS) to build DPI, which allows countries to customize them to their precise needs.

MOSIP and Mojaloop are two OSS with massive funding support from the Gates Foundation, and they are being used by a growing number of African countries to either build digital ID or digital payment systems to meet their specific needs. A recent study found that OSS adoption for DPI is not as strong as it ought to be given its freely available nature.

A senior official at the Digital Impact Alliance, Kay McGowan, is also quoted as saying that today, unlike three years ago, DPI is no longer about where data is stored. It is more about where the data is, which software is used, and who is implementing and maintaining it.

“There is so much more recognition of the complexity of digital sovereignty and how countries are thinking about how to have agency and make strategic decisions over the design and governance of their digital foundations,” said McGowan.

Apart from using open-source systems, DPI sovereignty also requires working with domestic system integrators. Devex cites the example of a Rwandan startup WiredIn that was involved in making Mojaloop a major rail for digital payments in the country.

Another important point raised at the DPI Summit was private sector involvement and how they can support governments in raising capital for DPI projects.

“I think if the private sector and state sit at the same table together with civil society, many countries will be able to craft solutions that make more sense to their specific realities,” Equity Group Holdings CEO James Mwangi is quoted as asserting at the summit.

The African DPI sovereignty discourse also had a prominent place during the 2025 CEO Summit in Accra in April where industry players characterized it as a matter of urgency for the continent.

Beyond sovereignty, there are other issues African nations are grappling with in terms of DPI development. From rushed decisions, limited transparency, weak data protection systems, and governance issues, experts X-rayed these challenges in a virtual discussion organized by The Atlantic Council in November.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  digital public infrastructure  |  open source  |  tech sovereignty