The Bahamas turns to Estonia as digital identity expertise becomes an export

The Bahamas has signed a long-term digital governance partnership with Estonia, joining a growing number of countries importing expertise in digital identity and digital public infrastructure (DPI) as governments increasingly treat digital transformation as something that can be accelerated through international partnerships rather than developed entirely in-house.

The memorandum of understanding, signed during the CANTO regional communications conference, establishes cooperation on digital identity, interoperability, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and citizen-centered public services.

It was signed by Sebastian Bastian, The Bahamas minister of innovation and national development, and Liisa‑Ly Pakosta, Estonia’s minister of justice and digital affairs.

Bastian said Estonia’s experience in digital identity and interoperable government systems offers The Bahamas a practical roadmap for modernization. “Estonia has really been the model for e-governance in their advancement in digital identity, interoperable frameworks and how modern governments work,” Bastian said in a statement.

“As The Bahamas looks to move in that direction, having a country that has travelled that road and has the experience, the learnings and even the missteps to share helps us move faster. Being able to draw on that technical support allows us to take out some of the guesswork and accelerate our efforts as we modernize government for the Bahamian people.”

Pakosta said Estonia sees the partnership as a two‑way exchange and that it shares both its achievements and its mistakes so partners can avoid common pitfalls.

“Estonia is a small country and we value co-operation globally because we believe there should be no digital divide, and that every country should have the opportunity to benefit from digital transformation,” she said.

The eventual measure of success, she added, will be whether Bahamian citizens experience more efficient services and whether businesses and young people see greater opportunity in a digitally advanced economy.

The growing market for DPI expertise

The agreement reflects a broader shift in the global digital identity market. Rather than purchasing only technology, governments are increasingly importing experience, governance models and implementation expertise from countries that have already deployed national digital identity and digital public infrastructure at scale. Digital government itself is becoming an export.

Estonia has added The Bahamas to a growing collection of governments eager to learn from its experience in digital identity. The Baltic country has been sought out by the likes of Benin, Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire has contracted Cybernetica to build an interoperability layer for its digital government agenda.

Tallinn hosted African delegates during the 2026 Africa Business Forum on DPI partnerships. Its interests are not limited to Africa as Vietnam looks to Estonia for digital identity and data unification knowledge. Germany and the European Union are also working with Estonians on the EUDI Wallet. Around the world India, Singapore, Ukraine are other exporters of DPI, while Malaysia and Taiwan are expanding their international influence.

As for the latest MoU, it provides for technical exchanges, study visits, workshops and collaboration between government, industry and technology stakeholders. It builds on discussions held a month earlier at the UN’s global dialogue on AI governance in Geneva, where The Bahamas and Estonia explored cooperation in AI and digital government.

The Ministry of Innovation and National Development described the partnership as a milestone in efforts to modernize government, strengthen capability in emerging technologies and position The Bahamas to compete in an increasingly digital global economy. Bastian said the rapid progression from initial talks to formal signing reflects a shared commitment to moving “from dialogue to meaningful impact.”

Article Topics

Bahamas  |  Caribbean  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  Estonia