Despite the widespread acknowledgment of the potential for digital technologies to accelerate inclusive economic growth, not everyone has access to the mobile devices, internet connectivity, and affordable data they need to participate meaningfully in the digital economy. This digital divide, which includes gender specific barriers, prevents billions of people from accessing the fundamental digital resources necessary for participation in the modern economy. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) enables countries to more effectively connect marginalized communities with markets, resources, and services through tools such as a digital ID, but the infrastructure alone does not mean it’s equally accessible to everyone who might benefit.

In this episode of Voices in Development, Pramod Varma, the Chief Architect of Aadhaar, India's digital identification program, discusses the role of DPI in economic development, specifically in terms of increasing access to financial services. Varma argues that the most effective DPI is much like a highway network that is built by the government but traveled by vehicles designed and manufactured by the private sector. With the essential infrastructure in place, he suggests, the private sector, NGOs, and philanthropists can develop faster, cheaper, and more sustainable ways to reach marginalized communities.

This episode also featured Rohini Pande, Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics and Director of the Economic Growth Center, and Alix Peterson Zwane, Senior Fellow at the Yale Jackson School and CEO of Global Innovation Fund, who discussed the links between DPI and inclusion.

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