The Role of Digital Public Infrastructure in Driving Financial Innovation for the Future

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) represents the foundational digital rails—encompassing digital identity, interoperable payment systems, and secure data exchange platforms—that are revolutionizing how the world's 400 million SMEs access financial services. While SMEs represent 90% of global businesses and employ over 2 billion people, they have historically been excluded from formal financial systems due to high transaction costs and complex requirements that traditional banking infrastructure wasn't designed to serve profitably.

The panel examined successful DPI implementations that reduced SME barriers to formal financial services, exploring design principles that served micro-enterprises alongside large corporations. Discussions covered how open frameworks and APIs enabled fintech innovation while maintaining stability, governance models for cross-border DPI interoperability, and the integration of emerging technologies like AI and blockchain. The session addressed the role of development finance institutions in ensuring DPI adoption benefited underserved SME segments in emerging markets.