Millions of Africans could be locked out of essential services as governments rush to build digital identity, payment and data-sharing systems without adequate safeguards for rights and inclusion. That is the central warning in a new report from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), which examines the expansion of digital public infrastructure (DPI) across eleven countries on the continent.
The State of Internet Freedom in Africa 2026 report, covering Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, was released at the close of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica26), held this year in Mauritius. It arrives at a moment when governments across the region are investing heavily in digital identity cards, biometric registries and electronic payment platforms as pillars of broader digital transformation agendas.
Systems Built Faster Than They Are Governed
DPI refers to the foundational digital systems - identity verification, payments and data exchange - that increasingly underpin how citizens interact with the state and with private service providers. Proponents argue these systems can cut bureaucratic delays, widen access to banking and welfare programs, and make public administration more efficient. CIPESA does not dispute the potential benefits, but it argues that the governance frameworks meant to accompany these systems have lagged far behind their technical rollout.
According to the report, foundational credentials that function as mandatory gateways to public and private services are often undermined by flawed architectural design, recurring technical failures and inaccurate records. When a digital identity system is the only route to a bank account, a government subsidy or a mobile phone connection, any flaw in that system does not merely inconvenience users - it can cut them off entirely from essential parts of modern life.
Who Gets Left Behind
The report finds that exclusion falls disproportionately on groups already at the margins of digital and civic life. People with limited digital literacy, unreliable internet access, or difficulty navigating civil registration bureaucracies - including rural populations, women, children and older people - face the greatest risk of being shut out as DPI becomes a precondition for accessing services. This pattern echoes a broader concern raised by digital rights researchers for years: that technology designed to modernize governance can, without deliberate safeguards, reproduce or deepen existing inequalities rather than resolve them.
The use of internet shutdowns and other blanket connectivity restrictions compounds the problem, the report notes, since disruptions imposed for political or security reasons can simultaneously sever access to identity verification, payments and other services that have become dependent on continuous connectivity.
What the Report Recommends
CIPESA calls for rights-respecting national policies and laws to govern DPI before these systems become further embedded in daily administration. Its recommendations include:
- Establishing robust legal and institutional governance frameworks for digital identity, payment and data-sharing systems
- Investing in complementary infrastructure, including connectivity and digital skills, alongside DPI rollout
- Replacing simple coverage targets with disaggregated indicators that measure meaningful connectivity and actual service completion
- Ending internet shutdowns and other blanket restrictions used as tools of political or security control
Speaking at the FIFAfrica26 closing ceremony, Mauritius’ Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Avinash Ramtoh, described DPI as critical infrastructure for any forward-looking country, while stressing that such systems must be inclusive, accessible and respectful of rights. The four-day forum brought together policymakers, researchers, civil society groups, journalists and technologists to discuss artificial intelligence, data governance, platform accountability and civic participation - threads the report ties directly to the DPI debate.
As African governments accelerate digital transformation plans, the report's underlying argument is straightforward: the design choices made now in identity, payment and data systems will shape who can participate fully in public life for years to come, and who gets quietly excluded.
