Digital Public Infrastructure Pt 1: An oddly beautiful schema for inclusive socio-economic development

In March, I represented Impact Tank in Addis Ababa to attend MOSIP Connect , a conference bringing together the who’s who in the rather niche area of Digital Public Infrastructure and Digital ID.

Besides learning some sweet new lingo (Verifiable credentials, PKIs, Zero-trust architecture, JSON formats and SOAP protocols) I was exposed to 1) a whole new category of digital solutions to solve socio-economic issues at scale in Namibia and 2) the amazing innovations in public sector technology coming from African, and other global south countries.

Digital Public Infrastructure – Not pretty but has an amazing personality.

There are few things as seemly unsexy as infrastructure, least of all public infrastructure. I mean, how many people have Pinterest boards dedicated to cement mixers or put waste management plants on their holiday itinerary? I think you know the answer.

The golden rule when it comes to public infrastructure is that if you forget it exists, then it is probably working very well. This, however, shrouds the fascinating and innovative world of the nuts and bolts that quietly keep our societies upright. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), just like physical public infrastructure like roads, sewage systems and streetlights, creates the networks and tools that connect and enable us to access important goods and services. DPI provides the foundation for a suite of digital services to be provided to citizens and businesses. This might sound abstract, but we already use DPI daily – just think about the internet or GPS. These don’t belong to any company and are accessible to almost anyone with the right tools.

But DPI can be much more especially when it comes to citizen-centric public service delivery. DPI, through solutions like Digital IDs, data sharing and payment systems can increase the efficiency and access to social benefit payments, healthcare service, document verification, and save the government millions lost from financial leakages.?

The open-source moment – a new operating model for inclusive public services

“A key feature of all DPI is that is open source, enabling interoperability, customization and trust”.

This is how someone recently explained it to me. I nodded in agreement but had no idea what they were saying. So, lets break it down.

Think of ‘open source’ in the context of a big box of LEGO in your grade 3 classroom; a container with a lot of little building blocks that everyone can play with, build together, share designs, and even add more pieces from other LEGO sets. Open-source software are collections of software code that is accessible to everyone to use, collaborate on and build applications with. In the context of DPI, large ‘LEGO Boxes’ of code are shared, making available the building blocks upon which to build customized public online services and systems—like websites for paying your bills, apps for public transport, or online libraries. This is great because:

1.???????? Transparency: Just like seeing all the LEGO bricks and instructions, everyone can see how the software works. This helps people trust that the software is safe and doing what it's supposed to do.

2.???????? Collaboration and Innovation: With everyone able to play and experiment with the LEGO bricks (i.e. the software), new ideas can come to life much faster. It's like if someone figured out how to make a LEGO brick into a solar panel, and then everyone could use that design to power their LEGO houses.

But you might wonder what if, using the LEGO analogy, that little troublemaker Timmy comes into your classroom and starts breaking up all lovely Lego creations or steal them for himself?

Just because open source is ‘open’ doesn’t mean it’s the wild west with no rules. Open-source software and DPI have strict standards, specifications and open-licensing agreements that ensure the safety and integrity of the code and applications built on it. Ensuring no Timmys can come along and make a mess (sorry Timmy).

Digital ID:

Again, to those like me who thought HTML was just a Gen Z Instagram hashtag (as opposed to the computational tool used to access and structure web pages) it is worth explaining what digital ID is and why it matters.

Imagine you have a wallet full of different cards: your driver’s license, National ID, a healthcare card and a social grant voucher. Each of these cards verifies your identity and certain entitlements. What if you lose your wallet though? ?Or what if someone steals it? What if you must go to the police station for the 43rd time to certify a copy of your Driver’s Licence? A digital ID is like a wallet, but it is integrated and online. It’s a digital credential, accessible anytime and anywhere that proves you are who you say you are when accessing government services, banking online, to signing documents electronically.

The benefits go beyond just convenience. Digital IDs can be the foundation for country level socio-economic empowerment and development. India's digital ID program, Aadhar, launched in 2009, and is a remarkable example of how DPI can lead to significant socio-economic benefits, especially for low-income citizens.

1.???????? Over 400 Million Bank Accounts: The payment application built on top of Aadhar has led to the opening of over 400 million bank accounts for unbanked people, driving financial inclusion at an unprecedented scale.

2.???????? Direct Benefit Transfers: Over USD200 billion in social benefit transfers have reached Indian citizens through eID-enabled digital payments.

3.???????? Billions in Savings: Digital ID systems helped the Indian government save approximately $23 billion by eliminating fraud and duplicity in beneficiary lists for various government schemes.

Remember, India is not a highly industrialised, developed country (yet). These impacts were made in a country with lower GDP per capita and less bank account ownership than Namibia.

Why Namibia should take notice.

I left Addis just buzzing at the potential that open-source DPI and Digital IDs have for The land of the Brave. There are so many reasons why we can succeed in this sphere and reap huge socio-economic rewards.

1.???????? ?The time is right.

Namibia’s strategic vision for technology, exemplified by the draft National Digital Strategy, eGovernment Roadmap and Cybersecurity Strategy, outlines a resolute focus on leveraging technology like Digital ID’s for national development. Open-source Digital ID platforms like MOSIP have matured and is already in use successfully in several African countries.

2.???????? Digital sovereignty and customization

Open-Sourced Digital ID puts the country in control of its platforms and data. The government is not tied to a specific 3rd party vendor and does not need to pay expensive licensing fees for the software being used. Every country’s context and needs are unique and open-source digital ID platforms like MOSIP allow endless customization options to ensure the system is fit for purpose.

3.???????? Open-source community and DPI partners ecosystem

The open-source DPI community is growing exponentially and the tools available for countries to develop their own systems are unprecedented. Several African countries have started their eID journeys with countries like Ethiopia and Togo proving excellent models for the adoption of Digital IDs. Organisations like the Digital Public Goods Alliance, GovStack, The World Bank’s ID4Development program and the Gates Foundation are providing the support and investment to bring these solutions from theory into practice.

Conclusion

Creating a national ID System is a massive and complex undertaking and it won’t happen overnight. But it has never been this achievable or impactful at any point before. With strong, coordinated government buy-in, committed private sector and technical and partners and effective public communication on the value of Digital ID, Namibia can accelerate its progress to Vision 2030.

And if that doesn’t make Infrastructure cool, I don’t know what will.

Stay tuned for part 2.