DPI Africa Info Hub
The DPI Africa Info Hub is an initiative of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) with funding support from and in partnership with Co-Develop. It forms part of the DPI Journalism Fellowship project of the organisation which is aimed at training a cadre of journalists to produce stories about DPI issues in their respective countries and across the West Africa sub region to engender awareness, debates, participation, inclusivity, and uptake of DPI in West Africa. The dpi africa info hub is a platform that is aimed at publishing stories produced by Fellows of the project. The website also shares information about the DPI Journalism Fellowship, and features the profile of Fellows (current and alumni). The website also republishes DPI policies, programmes and other developments across West Africa and around the continent. It also highlights some dpi news across the world.
About DPI
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to the foundational digital systems and services that underpin a country’s digital transformation. It is about harnessing the power of digital technologies to improve service delivery and ultimately, the quality of life. DPI facilitates the delivery of government services, economic growth and social inclusion. Examples of DPI include digital ID systems, payment platforms, digital posts and data exchanges.
DPI requires the development of interoperable, flexible and reusable digital foundations that advance effective delivery of crucial services by both state and non-state actors. The foundations of DPI are expected to be robust and trustworthy, user-friendly, accessible and beneficial to all.
Foundational Layers of DPI
Data Exchange: enabling data sharing across applications and systems to facilitate and streamline access to services. Data exchanges ensures that users do not have to re-enter their data multiple times to access different services. The data exchange layer of DPI that data is securely shared and reusable by different service providers in the provision of drivers’ licenses, passports, health insurance, etc.
Digital ID: providing unique digital identifiers to individuals to ensure that people can be digitally authenticated by securely matching their records across different systems to ensure that they can access different services such as banking, insurance, education, online payments, etc.
Digital Payments: enabling people to make payments, send and receive money through digital platforms and/or make purchases online. This layer of DPI facilitates instant payments by riding on the unique digital IDs and secure data exchanges to ensure secured payments at relatively lower costs.
Consent: deploying data protection architecture and related technologies to ensure that people have control over their personal data and the protection of their privacy rights.
The DPI approach facilitates financial inclusion, gender parity, economic growth and innovation with relatively lower cost implications.
The safeguards to be considered in the development and deployment of DPI include
- Technical safeguards to minimise and mitigate unauthorised access to and abuse of personal data
- Policies and regulations to ensure standardisation and protection of data
- Community outreach, participation, and agency to counter exclusion and marginalisation
- Oversight and accountability mechanisms to ensure good stewardship from all stakeholders
About MFWA
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is a regional independent non-governmental organisation with a network of national partner organisations in all 16 countries in West Africa. It is the biggest and most influential media development and freedom of expression organisation in the region with UN ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) Consultative Status. At the Africa Union (AU) level, the MFWA has Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). The MFWA also has Equivalency Determination Certification with NGOSource that certifies the organisation as being the equivalent of a public charity in the United States. The MFWA is also the Secretariat of the continental Network of the most prominent Free Expression and Media Development Organisations in Africa, known as the Africa Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX). It also works in partnership with other regional and international organisations through different networks such as IFEX, AFEX, the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), the African Platform on Access to Information (APAI), Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), and International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). The organisation also has a partnership agreement with the regional inter-governmental body, ECOWAS. It also engages frequently with mechanisms of the African Union (AU) and the UN.
About Co-Develop
Co-Develop is a global non-profit fund helping countries accelerate their digital transformation journeys, by leveraging safe and inclusive shared digital public infrastructure (DPI) at scale. Enabling this digital transformation for 50 countries in the next five years, Co-Develop makes investments to:
- Unlock bottlenecks in the adoption of safe and inclusive shared digital infrastructure by countries
- Learn about the impact of shared infrastructure as countries go through with their digitisation efforts
We operate on the ethos that, together with like-minded partners, we must “co-develop” the foundations for a fairer future.
About MFWA
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is a regional independent non-governmental organisation with a network of national partner organisations in all 16 countries in West Africa. It is the biggest and most influential media development and freedom of expression organisation in the region with UN ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) Consultative Status. At the Africa Union (AU) level, the MFWA has Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). The MFWA also has Equivalency Determination Certification with NGOSource that certifies the organisation as being the equivalent of a public charity in the United States. The MFWA is also the Secretariat of the continental Network of the most prominent Free Expression and Media Development Organisations in Africa, known as the Africa Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX). It also works in partnership with other regional and international organisations through different networks such as IFEX, AFEX, the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), the African Platform on Access to Information (APAI), Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), and International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). The organisation also has a partnership agreement with the regional inter-governmental body, ECOWAS. It also engages frequently with mechanisms of the African Union (AU) and the UN.
About Co-Develop
Co-Develop is a global non-profit fund helping countries accelerate their digital transformation journeys, by leveraging safe and inclusive shared digital public infrastructure (DPI) at scale. Enabling this digital transformation for 50 countries in the next five years, Co-Develop makes investments to:
- Unlock bottlenecks in the adoption of safe and inclusive shared digital infrastructure by countries
- Learn about the impact of shared infrastructure as countries go through with their digitisation efforts
We operate on the ethos that, together with like-minded partners, we must “co-develop” the foundations for a fairer future.
Meet the Project Team
Dora B. Mawutor
Vivian Affoah
