Digital public infrastructure is emerging as a cornerstone for development, according to Sangbu Kim, vice president for digital at the World Bank.
Speaking during a Devex Impact House panel on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF annual meetings in Washington, D.C., Kim described DPI as “a really fundamental foundation and infrastructure for the digital use,” emphasizing its role in expanding access to services across sectors.
“First of all, ID is very important. Without identifying some individuals, it is really hard to provide some right and correct services to the users,” he said. Payment systems and authentication tools such as e-signatures, he added, reinforce “trust or the quality of the services,” while data-sharing systems and interoperability can extend benefits “not only for the government services, [but] through the older private services.”
Kim underscored that governments must lead: “Basically, given that this is the name of the DPI, as a public infrastructure so the main public sector should drive and lead these initiatives.” With more than 800 million people worldwide still lacking official ID, he warned that “those people can be excluded from any … government aids or government support.”
Building DPI, however, requires a phased approach. “If you think about the DPI, the pre-requirement is the internet access. If you think about the internet access, [the] pre-requirement is the energy,” Kim said.
Affordability and digital literacy are just as critical. “Even if we can access to the internet, you know, the device is too — the price is too high. It’s not affordable. On top of that … some main civilians are not super familiar with how to use this digital, so some basic digital literacy training and education opportunities should be provided.”
Looking ahead, Kim stressed the importance of combining DPI with emerging technologies and local innovation.
“DPI is a very fundamental issue. Definitely, we need to tackle that. But AI is another new trend. … How we can just combine some of the DPI, basic DPI framework, also some with some AI innovation, [to] enhance the quality and enhance the speed.”
He also urged low- and middle-income countries to become “producers of innovation, not just consumers.”
The World Bank is already linking digital initiatives with major sector programs. “We have some really big initiatives for M300. This is basically energy projects currently in sub-Saharan Africa, 600 million people have no energy access. So our target goal is at least 300 million people will get access to energy and electricity. But why? When we are just developing these energy deployments, definitely, we’re going to … bring some more opportunity to provide a digital service at once.”
On the bank’s broader role, Kim said: “We are very closely working with the government. Our basic business model [is] to support the financial … investment with the government or to the private sectors as well. But on top of that, we are also working very closely with the government to provide some … better technical assistance or policy assistance, not only just the money support, some knowledge support will be the key.”
About the author
Helen Murphy
Helen is an award-winning journalist and Senior Editor at Devex, where she edits coverage on global development in the Americas. Based in Colombia, she previously covered war, politics, financial markets, and general news for Reuters, where she headed the bureau, and for Bloomberg in Colombia and Argentina, where she witnessed the financial meltdown. She started her career in London as a reporter for Euromoney Publications before moving to Hong Kong to work for a daily newspaper.
