Page 39 - Building digital public infrastructure for cities and communities

At the regional level, the SOURCE platform, a secure cloud-based platform that provides governments
and public agencies with a standardized infrastructure project governance framework, including
access to global benchmarks, and a collaborative environment for coordination across government
agencies and financing institutions. SOURCE exemplifies institutional multilateralism, developed
by multilateral development banks, it standardizes infrastructure project design across nations,
allowing governments to co-develop urban transit, energy, or water systems using shared digital
templates (ADB, 2023). This accelerates SDG-aligned investments while mitigating risks through
pooled expertise.

Collectively, these DPIs transform fragmented governance into networked action, where open
APIs, federated data and digital trust mechanisms synchronize policy implementation across
geographies, proving that interoperable infrastructure is indispensable for resilient, regionally
coherent urban futures.

5 Strategic benefits of DPI for urban governance

5.1 Service access and equity

Expanding access to essential services

DPI has demonstrated significant potential in promoting social equity, accessibility and digital
inclusion in urban settings (OECD, 2024). By enabling access to essential services such as identity
verification, healthcare registration, financial inclusion, social protection and utility management,
DPI helps bridge the digital divide and support inclusive economic growth. As cities become
increasingly digitized, equitable access to these digital services is vital to ensuring no resident,
regardless of income, age or social status, is left behind (ITU, 2025). However, the transformative
potential of DPI depends on scalable design, inclusive governance and sustainable investment in
underserved communities.

National identity platforms in countries like the Philippines and Morocco have expanded access
to financial and welfare services for millions of people previously excluded from formal systems
(World Bank, 2024; Philippine Statistics Authority, 2023). Similarly, Pakistan’s digital payment system
has connected unbanked women in rural areas to the financial ecosystem, thereby promoting
gender equity and reducing poverty (Kemal, 2018; Data2X, 2019). Egypt’s use of digital payment
systems and e-wallets to administer cash-based social aid programmes, including large scale social
protection programmes (e.g., the “Takaful and Karama Programme”, the Arabic interpretation of
“Social Solidarity and Dignity”), has had a significant impact on its economy. Entitled beneficiaries
benefitted immensely as they tended to rely on case aid programmes; however, they often lacked
access to formal financial sector services (Central Bank of Egypt, 2023; Egypt, 2025). These examples
highlight how DPI can foster social inclusion by building accessible and interoperable systems that
target historically marginalized populations.

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