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G20 is calling for submissions for the DPI Innovation Accelerator. Click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.
Opportunity Details
South Africa’s G20 Presidency is advancing discussions on the societal and economic value of digital public infrastructure (DPI).These efforts recognize that the benefits of DPI for improved public services, digital transformation and inclusion are dynamic. They go beyond efficiency gains to influence broader social and economic outcomes, but this depends on how DPI is designed, governed and implemented.
DPI enhances public services of most branches of government, and is a key driver of innovation and greater digital inclusion. This is driving its increased interest across the globe. It can have a dynamic economic and social impact on development. South Africa’s G20 Presidency is driving efforts to explore how governance and design principles such as inclusion, safeguards, interoperability, innovation and competition can be leveraged to help countries and regions unlock both public and private value from DPI. Particular focus is on enabling trust, driving the responsible adoption of these systems and ensuring that data as a public asset energizes efficient service delivery. Fostering meaningful partnerships across countries, governments, the private sector, civil society and academia and adopting a whole of society approach is an imperative.
To mobilize DPI innovations globally across the G20 Members and guests, and across African countries, South Africa’s G20 Presidency has launched the DPI Innovation Accelerator. This initiative is carried out in partnership with the African Union (AU) and knowledge partners, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Building on India’s G20 Presidency’s Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository—a digital repository that enables the discoverability of DPI technologies and supports knowledge-sharing among G20 members and guest countries—the DPI Innovation Accelerator will extend these efforts to identify and showcase DPI innovations from across Africa and around the world.
About the DPI Innovation Accelerator
The DPI Innovation Accelerator is a concerted effort, launched under South Africa’s G20 Presidency, to foster knowledge exchange, highlight practical use cases, and support the scaling of DPI that are secure, interoperable, with open standards, people-centred and rights-based. By highlighting promising initiatives and sharing them with a broad community of governments, funders and ecosystem partners, the DPI Innovation Accelerator seeks to unlock new opportunities for collaboration and support.
Who can submit?
The call for submissions is open to all DPI implementers . Governments, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector, to submit an existing or prototype of a DPI innovation or implementation. Selection criteria for the final showcase are as follows:
Existing DPI innovations and implementations should demonstrate a clear approach (e.g. blueprints), impact (based on measurement and public value), and insights on how safeguards can assist in building safe, secure and rights-protecting ecosystems that enable innovation through interoperability, open standards and competition. Submissions in this category should also describe the key metrics/KPIs used to measure impact.
New Submissions should demonstrate the impact of coalitions involving government and different stakeholders such as the private sector, civil society, and academia, on countries’ and/or regions’ digital economy and development through DPI. Where possible, blueprints and measured or anticipated impact (if possible by recognising the potential broader, dynamic impact of DPI on economic and social development) should be included. Submissions should also provide insights on how safeguards foster trust and how interoperability and open standards enable ecosystem innovation. Submissions may also include any relevant financing needs.
Submission Requirements
Each submission should demonstrate how the DPI innovation or implementation, embedded with the governance principles outlined above, can unlock public value. This includes evidencing how it can accelerate social and economic progress, and respond to the unique and diverse contexts of different countries and regions.
Submissions that demonstrate examples of DPI expanding access to services for women and young people, creating pathways for innovation across the public and private sectors, and supporting inclusive economic growth are especially encouraged.
Key dates
8 April 2025: Call for Submissions launched
While submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis, there are key deadlines (aligned with the Digital Economy Working Group meetings and the Global DPI Summit timelines) to consider.
Cut-off dates
4 June 2025: Ahead of the 3rd DEWG Meeting (10-12 June 2025)
15 August 2025: Ahead of the 4th DEWG Meeting (22-24 September 2025) & the 2025 DEWG Ministerial Meeting (25-26 September 2025)
3 October 2025: Ahead of the 2025 Global DPI Summit (4-6 November 2025)
Apply for DPI Innovation Accelerator