Digital public infrastructure (DPI) across Africa: A national identity systems perspective

Abstract

A rising global politics advocates for national investments in digital public infrastructure (DPI). The national DPI paradigm combines three core elements: digital national identity systems, digital national payment systems, and safe and secure data exchange. This study, grounded in literature on national identity systems and legal identity, assesses digital national identity systems in several African countries. Based on two of the core functions of identity systems (identification, authentication), as well as identity systems’ linkages to national payments systems, the study conceptualises four main types of digital national identity systems present in African countries: identification-led, authentication-led, plural, and payments-led. The study tests the applicability of the typology on a set of 11 African jurisdictions and finds that eight of the jurisdictions fit within the typology: South Africa, Uganda and Zambia (identification-led systems); Ethiopia and Morocco (authentication-led systems); Ghana (plural system); and Kenya and Nigeria (payments-led systems). The study contributes to global DPI debates by emphasising the authentication function in identity systems, by problematising the relationship between national identity systems and payment systems, and by engaging with global DPI indicators.