Insights
Co-Developing Shared Digital Infrastructure for an Equitable Recovery
Addressing Food Security with Digital Public Infrastructure
Food security plays a pivotal role in alleviating poverty, enhancing public health, and fostering socio-economic stability. Yet in recent years, the convergence of multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, and escalating climate emergencies, has significantly hindered agricultural productivity and led to a dire state of food insecurity that has been disproportionately felt among the most vulnerable populations worldwide. To effectively tackle this challenge, it is not enough to focus on immediate-term recovery efforts; rather, laying the foundations for longer-term resilience will enable countries to withstand future crises. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) - society-wide, digital capabilities that are essential to participation in society and markets as a citizen, entrepreneur, and consumer - is proving to be a powerful tool in the fight against food insecurity, now and in the future.
Building Zambia’s Digital Economy Foundations through Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)
In recent years, Zambia has actively sought to foster digital inclusion and transform its ICT and innovation ecosystem, with the latest move being the signing of the Electronic Regulation Statutory Instrument (SI) No 43 of 2023 by H.E. President Hakainde Hichilema in October 2023. The regulation which strengthens the role of the Electronic Government Division also known as Smart Zambia Institute (SZI) is in line with the government’s vision of prioritising digital transformation by leveraging technology for the enhancement of the well-being of the citizenry through enhanced public service delivery and also making it the bedrock of Zambia’s economic progress.
Co-Develop Invests in Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC) to Improve Safety & Inclusion in Digital Public Infrastructure
Co-Develop made a grant to support a prominent Brazilian consumer defense organization, Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC), to conduct research and advocacy aimed at improving the safety and inclusivity of Brazil’s digital public infrastructure. Brazil has one of the most robust examples of digital public infrastructure (DPI) globally. In just a few years, DPI in Brazil has transformed how the country does business, bringing millions of people into the digital economy.
OpenG2P at IIIT-Bangalore Partners with Co-Develop to Advance Global Digital Government to Person (G2P) Solutions
OpenG2P and Co-Develop are pleased to announce a partnership to accelerate OpenG2P's mission to enable inclusive and efficient Government-to-Person (G2P) delivery systems.
OpenG2P provides an open-source platform to build solutions that streamline and enhance the performance of G2P systems; that play a crucial role in disbursing social benefits, subsidies, and other essential payments to residents, fostering economic stability and social welfare.
Launching the ‘State of DPI’ Project
We are excited to announce the launch of a digital public infrastructure (DPI) baseline research project – the ‘Global State of DPI’.
Over the past year, the conversation around DPI has dramatically expanded. Most notably, the G20’s endorsement of DPI as a critical catalyst for countries' development has brought global attention to the concept of “infrastructure thinking” for development and public service delivery. The launch of the 50-in-5 campaign demonstrated a commitment by a global coalition of partners including Co-Develop to align around a shared goal in supporting the adoption of safe and inclusive digital public infrastructure globally.
Foundations for a fairer digital future
As we learn about the digitisation journeys of various countries, and the different approaches that countries can take, it is difficult to comprehend why the idea of shared public infrastructure is difficult to comprehend. Indeed, this idea of shared public infrastructure is the bedrock on which our modern economies are built. I often say that the education department did not build its own roads for school buses, and the health department did not build its own roads for ambulances. We built roads as shared public infrastructure. Why then is this idea of shared public infrastructure not the default in the digital realm?
What is Digital Public Infrastructure?
At Co-Develop, we understand digital public infrastructure (DPI) to be society-wide, digital capabilities that are essential to participation in society and markets as a citizen, entrepreneur, and consumer in a digital era. Because it is essential, DPI should be guaranteed by public institutions to be 1) inclusive, 2) foundational, 3) interoperable, and 4) publicly accountable, as it is deployed in countries around the world.
Investing in the Center for Digital Public Infrastructure: applying infrastructure thinking to governments’ top priorities
In March 2023, Co-Develop approved an investment to set up the Center for Digital Public Infrastructure (CDPI), housed at the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIIT-B). CDPI supports governments to imagine, design, architect, and implement DPI, while helping disseminate “infrastructure thinking” worldwide.
Explaining Co-Develop’s Understanding of Digital Public Infrastructure
Co-Develop recently released a framework for how we understand digital public infrastructure (DPI). As with all of our work, we welcome your comments and feedback as we co-create this work alongside a dynamic ecosystem of partners.
Addressing Climate Change with Digital Public Infrastructure
Climate change is one of the most urgent and complex challenges facing humanity today. All countries will need to engage to respond to the climate threat over the coming century with a focus on climate change adaptation (helping human populations and biomes cope with the effects of climate change), climate change mitigation (reducing carbon emissions), and the cross-cutting challenges around transparency and access to finance for these activities. Solutions to these climate challenges require innovation on a global scale.
Investing in the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
By Robert Karanja
Co-Develop is excited to announce an investment in the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in a program called the Co-Develop Africa DPI Journalism Fellowship Program. MFWA is an independent non-governmental media development and freedom of expression organization with a network of national partner organizations in all 16 countries in West Africa.
Investing in Mojaloop: Accelerating the adoption of an open-source instant payment solutions in Africa
By Robert Karanja
Co-Develop is excited to announce a new investment in Mojaloop Foundation (Mojaloop), an innovative catalyst designed to empower organizations to create interoperable payment systems that enable inclusive digital financial services. Mojaloop is an open-source software that can be used to build interoperable, digital payment systems connecting users, banks, government entities, and other financial service providers in order to accelerate instant payment system adoption.
Investing in OpenCRVS: recognizing civil registration as foundational to digital public infrastructure
By Christine Kim
Co-Develop is thrilled to announce a new investment in OpenCRVS, an open source software (OSS) that enables governments to establish and maintain a comprehensive record of important life events such as births, marriages, adoptions, divorces, and deaths - collectively known as Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) data.
A robust CRVS system is essential to DPI, playing a crucial role in issuing legal documents often required for enrolling in schools, receiving healthcare, conducting legal transactions, exercising inheritance rights, enabling immigration, and accessing other public and private services.