November 4–6, 2025 | Cape Town International Convention Centre
This November, the world’s attention turns to Cape Town as global leaders gather for the Global Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Summit 2025, a landmark event shaping how nations build inclusive, secure, and people-centered digital systems.
Under the theme “Digital Public Infrastructure: Accelerating Africa’s Growth and Opportunity,” the summit will bring together heads of state, policymakers, technologists, and philanthropists from across the globe — with Africa at the center of the conversation.
Africa’s Moment in the Digital Era
Hosting the Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, signals Africa’s leadership in building digital foundations that unlock opportunity and resilience. Across the continent, governments are investing in national ID systems, interoperable payment rails, and data-sharing platforms — the building blocks of digital public infrastructure.
These systems are quietly transforming lives: helping citizens access healthcare, social benefits, and financial services; making businesses more efficient; and enabling new forms of innovation. The Global DPI Summit will showcase these stories while fostering collaboration to ensure that every country can design, adapt, and own its digital future.
“Africa isn’t waiting for the future of digital transformation — it’s creating it,” said one of the Summit’s organizers. “From Lagos to Kigali, we’re seeing homegrown innovation leading the way in inclusive, secure, and scalable digital systems.”
2025 Key Themes
This year’s Summit is built around six core themes that reflect the values and priorities shaping Africa’s digital transformation:
- Inclusion & Accessibility – Ensuring universal access, affordability, and digital literacy so that no one is left behind.
- Trust, Security & Safeguards – Embedding data protection, ethics, and accountability into every layer of digital infrastructure.
- Interoperability & Open Standards – Building systems that work seamlessly across borders, sectors, and technologies.
- Local Innovation & Ownership – Empowering countries to build and maintain digital systems that reflect local talent and priorities.
- Collaborative Governance & Partnerships – Advancing shared responsibility among governments, civil society, and the private sector.
- Tangible Impact & SDG Acceleration – Demonstrating how DPI can accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
Inside the Summit
Over three days, delegates will take part in keynotes, technical sessions, and high-level roundtables exploring real-world DPI success stories and lessons learned. The agenda also includes interactive showcases featuring innovations in health, finance, education, and governance.
Among the most anticipated moments is the Opening Keynote Address by Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, followed by a Roundtable of African digital innovators and policymakers discussing how DPI can unlock inclusive growth at scale.
Africa.com and iAfrica.com will provide live coverage, on-the-spot interviews, and exclusive post-summit reports, ensuring that the insights shared in Cape Town reach audiences across the continent and beyond.
Why It Matters
Digital public infrastructure is more than technology — it’s the foundation for equitable growth. When designed responsibly, DPI enables access to essential services, strengthens trust in institutions, and opens new pathways for economic participation.
For Africa, the promise of DPI is immense: digital identity can unlock access to healthcare and education, interoperable payments can empower small businesses, and open data systems can improve governance and transparency.
The Global DPI Summit 2025 is where these possibilities become collective action.
Looking Ahead
As the digital era redefines how societies connect and prosper, Africa stands ready not just to participate — but to lead. The Global DPI Summit 2025 is both a celebration of progress and a call to accelerate it.
For policymakers, innovators, and citizens alike, Cape Town will be the stage where Africa’s digital future takes shape.
Stay tuned to iAfrica.com for exclusive updates, interviews, and coverage of the Global DPI Summit 2025 — where the world gathers to power the next chapter of Africa’s digital transformation.
