Since 2023, the digital public infrastructure (DPI) movement has gained global momentum, driven by the promise of improving financial inclusion, strengthening public and private service delivery, and enabling innovation. DPI refers to foundational digital systems, such as digital identity, payments, and data exchange, that allow private innovation to flourish securely and efficiently on shared public rails. It is now a central feature of development and governance discourse.

The infrastructure-first Indian model is the most visible today. Yet Europe, Asia, Africa, and the private sector are charting alternative paths, grounded in local regulatory philosophies, technical architectures, and rollout strategies. At the same time, one of DPI’s greatest promises lies in its ability to scale, connect across borders, and simplify payments, verification, and data flows regionally and even globally.

This roundtable will tackle the core challenge facing countries that are experimenting with their approaches to DPI: how can technology, policy, and civil society leaders design locally attuned DPI systems that achieve adoption, while ensuring global interoperability and avoiding further fragmentation of the digital economy? Panelists will debate governance models and standards shaping the next generation of DPI, from the global interoperability question to the right public-private balance, and launch a report to frame a path forward.