Digital ID on its own isn’t enough to satisfy the World Bank; it must be made interoperable with Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in order to control access to all life services.
Without being connected to every service that governments and corporations require of their citizens and customers, digital ID on its own isn’t very useful, but rather it’s the first step to unlocking what the World Bank calls “its full potential” — to plug it into the digital control grid known as DPI.
“Digital ID is a vital building block of digital transformation, but on its own it can’t unlock its full potential. Its value lies in a broader Digital Public Infrastructure—the systems that make digital services work together: digital ID, digital payments, and data sharing”
World Bank, “Unlocking opportunity: How digital ID can transform lives in Sierra Leone,” December 2025
DPI is a civic technology stack consisting of three main components: digital ID, fast payment systems, and massive data sharing between public and private entities.
Last month, the World Bank published a blogpost entitled “Unlocking opportunity: How digital ID can transform lives in Sierra Leone,” in which the authors showcased the West African country of Sierra Leone as a testbed for DPI.
For Sierra Leone, “Digital ID shows promise for public services, but gaps remain,” the authors argue.
In order to unlock the “full potential” of digital ID, the World Bank says that:
Interoperability is key for digital ID, because it needs to be connected to just about everything that is required to participate in society.
“From real-time payments to access in education, health, finance, and social protection, digital rails deliver the greatest impact when directly linked to services,” says the World Bank.
Digital ID and digital identity are two terms often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings to different people.
ID is for identification; it’s something that shows or proves who you are.
Identity on the other hand, is you! It’s your distinguishing character or personality that includes your beliefs and behaviors.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) envisioned interoperability of digital identity back in 2018 with its report, “Identity in a Digital World: A new chapter in the social contract.”
“Our identity is, literally, who we are, and as the digital technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution advance, our identity is increasingly digital […] This digital identity determines what products, services and information we can access – or, conversely, what is closed off to us”
World Economic Forum, Identity in a Digital World: A new chapter in the social contract, September 2018
When British PM Keir Starmer announced that digital ID would be mandatory for all Britons in order to work, the employment aspect was just one application or service for which digital ID would be required.
However, even if that decision were to be rescinded, it wouldn’t stop digital ID from being rolled out; it would only hit the pause button on that particular application — the requirement for employment.
Meanwhile, the government of Nigeria has already announced that digital ID and DPI would be required for “Key Life Events,” from the cradle to the grave.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria is on a mission to appropriately deploy digital technology to support Nigerians through these significant and profound moments so they can integrate into the state and enjoy the benefits of citizenhood from cradle to old age”
Supporting Life Events: The Nigeria Digital Public Infrastructure Framework, March 2025
“The Nigerian DPI will support significant landmarks such as registration of births, primary healthcare, vaccinations, student scholarships, marriages, mortgages, pensions, retirement and so on”
Supporting Life Events: The Nigeria Digital Public Infrastructure Framework, March 2025
The World Bank itself is a specialized agency of the United Nations, and just about all of the World Bank organizations working to accelerate global Digital Public Infrastructure rollouts are funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
These Gates-backed World Bank organizations include:
The Gates Foundation is a major donor to the World Bank’s Finance for Development (F4D) Program, which is also supported by VISA, the European Commission, and the governments of Austria, Canada, and Switzerland.
Just about all DPI funding leads back to the Gates Foundation.
Both Nigeria and Sierra Leone have joined the UN and Gates Foundation project called 50-in-5, which aims to install at least one DPI component in 50 countries by 2028.
Last October, the 50-in-5 campaign announced it had reached a milestone of 30 countries, just two years after its official launch.
Digital ID, in whatever form it takes, is just one cog in the wheel for the digital control grid.
When linked to all life services via DPI, digital ID is the first step towards the creation of a system of social credit, where so-called “good behavior” is rewarded while so-called “bad behavior” is punished.
Image Source: pikisuperstar on Freepik
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