The world’s attention will soon turn to the G20 summit, where global leaders will debate growth, innovation and inclusion. The headlines will no doubt obsess over things such as artificial intelligence, but without digital public infrastructure (DPI), the promise of progress remains just that, a promise.
It may not sound as flashy or glamorous as AI, but DPI is important. Think faster online payments, smarter connected cities, more efficient governance and better AI breakthroughs. All of this is only possible with DPI, the invisible scaffolding that holds up every digital ambition.
DPI encompasses the platforms and standards that enable digital economies to function. It’s essentially a series of roads and bridges of the digital world that connect everything together; unseen when it functions, but impossible to ignore when it fails.
For developing countries like South Africa, DPI is the difference between leading the digital era or being left behind. In May 2025, the government unveiled its digital transformation roadmap, MyMzansi, which outlined its aim of creating a connected, inclusive and digitally-driven country.
It’s an ambitious plan for sure, and one that can only work if we have a solid digital foundation.
Countries that have invested heavily in DPI are already seeing the payoff. In India, the Aadhaar digital identity system and the UPI payments network have made it easier for millions to open bank accounts and participate in the formal economy.
In Brazil, the Pix instant payment system has transformed everyday financial transactions, allowing people to transfer money in seconds, even without a traditional bank account.
On paper, South Africa is making strides. We were one of the first countries on the continent to launch 5G in 2020 and, according to Data Portal’s "Digital 2025 South Africa Report", about 79% of South Africans are online, which equates to about 50-million people.
It sounds impressive, but scratch deeper, and the digital divide becomes clearer.
The figures suggest progress, but the lived experience of locals tells a different story. In many townships and rural areas, internet speeds hover around a mere one megabit per second, which is far below global averages.
South Africa has some of the most expensive data packages on the continent, and digital literacy lags way behind international averages.
What it does show is that millions of South Africans have digital access without inclusion.
They are connected in theory but excluded in practice, and this was most apparent during the pandemic. When schools shut down, some learners continued their education online, but many lost months-worth of their education, cut off owing to poor connectivity, lack of devices at home or inadequate digital skills.
Strong DPI evens out this playing field and makes everyone a winner. Governments can deliver efficiency; small businesses can access online markets, access digital payments with ease and scale like never before; and ordinary citizens can fully participate in modern life, applying for things such as grants, ID cards and health-care services online.
The MyMzansi roadmap is a positive step, but vision alone won’t close the digital divide. What we need now is execution, with clear milestones, accountability and better public and private collaboration. Greater broadband expansion and more affordable data are a good start, but we also desperately need digital skills.
The strongest infrastructure is useless without skilled people to power it, and South Africa’s digital skills gap, highlighted in the national digital and future skills strategy, remains one of our biggest obstacles.
To make the system work, we must develop advanced digital skills in universities, business incubators and innovation hubs. At the same time, basic digital literacy must be embedded in schools, youth programmes and adult education. In today’s world, digital literacy is a matter of economic survival, not a nice-to-have.
A digitally literate society is more employable, productive and innovative. However, digital progress must rest on trust. Cybersecurity, privacy and ethical data governance are the moral backbone of any digital state, and citizens will only embrace the system if they know their data is protected.
If South Africa can build its digital roadmap better than its physical ones (with fewer potholes), we can unlock a more competitive, inclusive and innovative economy that leaves no person or business behind. If we don’t, we risk having a two-tier nation, with some South Africans prospering online, but far too many permanently left behind.
• Mtwentwe AGA(SA) is managing director of Vantage Advisory and the host of the SAICABIZ Impact Podcast
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