Recommendation: The South African President aims to promote regionally diverse digital public infrastructure and inclusive AI systems through a new G20 task force.
author:
Robert Opp
UNDP Chief Digital Officer
KEYZOM NGODUP at scale
UNDP Principal Digital Programming Officer
Digital technology holds immense potential for long-term economic development. Through its G20 Presidency, South Africa is seizing this transformational opportunity to prioritize digital public infrastructure (DPI) and artificial intelligence (AI), key enablers of digital transformation, in this year’s G20 Digital Agenda.
Building on the declarations of the past two G20 Presidencies, South Africa is currently advancing discussions on how to measure the dynamic social and economic value of the DPI. This recognizes that the potential benefits of DPIs to people and the planet will not come automatically and will depend on how countries design and implement DPIs.
On the AI front, the G20 Presidency is specifically looking to advance Africa’s strategic priorities on AI, following South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of the establishment of a G20 Task Force on Artificial Intelligence. This requires investments and partnerships to strengthen the AI infrastructure across the continent through regional and national leadership, along with AI hubs for sustainable development focused on private sector growth.
Unlocking the social and economic value of DPI
Discussions on the DPI are at the heart of South Africa’s G20 Digital Economy Working Group. A key question raised is how the value of DPI can be measured beyond traditional cost-benefit analysis, focusing on its role in enabling long-term economic and social development.
To answer this question, it is worth considering the following points:
regional diversity
Analyzing the data collected by DPI Maps reveals clear differences between regions. In Asia, Europe and Latin America, DPI is leading transformation across sectors such as education and healthcare. Meanwhile, in Africa and the Caribbean, countries planning or piloting DPI face significant challenges, including governance gaps that limit the potential impact of DPI. A key barrier is the underutilization of digital identity and authentication for large-scale electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) in these regions, and poor DPI implementation is hindering benefits to people and governments.
Africa’s power
In Africa, various mechanisms are driving progress, including the African Union (AU) Digital Transformation Strategy, the AU Data Policy Framework, and the Digital Identity Interoperability Framework (adopted in 2022/2023), complementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and its 2024 Digital Trade Protocol. These frameworks promote interoperability, effective governance, and human-centered regulation.
However, many African countries are still in the planning or testing stages. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) make up 90% of the continent’s private sector, provide 80% of employment and contribute 40% of gross domestic product (GDP), of which 70% are women-owned and many are informal. DPI has the potential to provide MSMEs on the continent with increased operational efficiency, access to finance, and market reach. Directing DPI implementation toward development impact can help unlock additional employment opportunities and other society-wide benefits.
UNDP partners with the African Union and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to support the President’s challenge to identify and accelerate DPI innovation and implementation that can unlock social and economic value for governments, people and the planet.
Closing the AI wealth gap
The G20 AI Task Force is a vital coalition-building platform, working to ensure that the AI divide does not become the new digital divide. How can we move beyond centralized global policies involving the private sector to regional approaches to long-term development and sovereignty? To close this gap, we need to work with local economic actors, including the private sector and civil society, to shape the future of AI. Complementing the governance discussions led by UNESCO, the OECD and other partners, UNDP’s engagement during South Africa’s G20 Presidency is centered around three themes:
1. The private sector as a driver of growth and responsibility
Private sector players, including startups, are important partners in achieving AI fairness. These are the drivers of growth for the African continent and the developing world as a whole. Advancing greater responsibility and investment requires greater cooperation and innovative partnerships across countries. In 2024, UNDP collaborated with the G7 Italian Presidency and the Italian Ministry of Enterprise on the AI Hub for Sustainable Development. The AI Hub is a borderless initiative co-designed with African stakeholders, ITU, and private sector actors in Cairo, Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi, San Francisco, and Toronto. Building on this development, South Africa’s G20 Presidency is envisioned to continue to create space for the private sector to lead in innovative ways, invest in AI infrastructure such as computing, data and talent, and rethink trust and security in AI.
2. Africa’s AI infrastructure is emerging and vibrant
From GPU clusters to renewable energy to power data centers, Africa’s AI infrastructure is already emerging. South Africa-based Deep Learning Indaba’s participation in the task force demonstrates the G20 Presidency’s commitment to action and impact across Africa in 2025. UNDP’s ‘Every Languages Matter’ review article, co-authored with the University of Ghana, highlights the need to encourage community efforts to develop datasets on Africa’s low-resource languages. Integrating these into AI systems is especially important where literacy is low and connectivity is low.
3. Green computing
Currently, only 5% of Africa’s workforce has access to adequate computing and only 1% have on-premises facilities, creating major barriers to innovation. The AI Hub for Sustainable Development is leading the design of the African Green Computing Coalition (AGCC) to address AI equity challenges and enable responsible private sector growth for all through innovative, action-oriented partnerships with public interest and business models at their core. Cassava Technologies and NVIDIA recently announced a groundbreaking partnership on AI infrastructure in Africa, advancing the challenge of transitioning industrial value chains for long-term development with the private sector and startups. South Africa’s role as one of the computing hubs across Africa highlights the potential of AI to help close the capital gap. This year, in its G20 Presidency, South Africa aims to work with the African Union to build the necessary linkages and plans for AI initiatives in Africa.
South Africa’s G20 Presidency is to be commended for its energy and momentum as it prepares for its second meeting in the Eastern Cape in April. The ambitious vision of the Presidency, set out in the National DPI Roadmap at its first meeting in 2025, is aptly expressed in the theme of the G20 South African Presidency: Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.
Building on the G20 Trioka Declaration of India, Brazil and South Africa, and the Global Digital Compact adopted by 193 member countries, South Africa’s G20 Presidency plays a key role in fostering discussions on DPI and AI, putting African and Global South priorities at the center of the agenda.
This article was first published on the World Economic Forum.
