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‘Deep Pockets’ vs. ‘Long Pockets’ in DPI: What Instant Payments and Open Finance Tell Us About Sustainable Funding for Digital Public Infrastructure
Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is gaining traction in emerging markets around the world. But as David Porteous at Integral: Governance Solutions and Rafe Mazer at Fair Finance Consulting explain, while the financial cost of building DPI may be modest, operating it at scale requires ongoing costs to be allocated across the ecosystem over time, making DPI sustainability fundamentally a governance issue centered on pricing policies. They explore how two of the three broadly accepted categories of DPI, instant payment systems and open finance, can develop credible mechanisms to finance long-term costs — while maintaining incentives for participants and trust among users.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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South Africa’s Role in the Broader Conversation About AI in Government
The original draft was released in April 2026 for public comment and was intended to position South Africa as a continental leader in AI innovation while addressing ethical and economic concerns. It was withdrawn shortly after a News24 report exposed that several of its citations were fictitious, references to nonexistent sources and documents that could not be verified.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: AI in Global Health Is a Familiar Story With an Uncertain Ending
Opinion: Without foundational investments in data systems, governance, and capacity, AI in global health risks becoming the latest promising innovation to fail in low- and middle-income countries.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Global
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Omnia Signs $2 Billion Wind Energy Deal With Casa Dos Ventos to Power ByteDance Data Center in Brazil – Report
The data center is currently under development and, when completed, is expected to be the largest in Brazil, representing a total investment of more than $39bn.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Bolt Hikes Kenya Fares by 6% as Drivers Struggle With Rising Fuel and Living Costs
Estonian ride-hailing company Bolt has increased ride fares in Kenya by 6 per cent, becoming one of the first major platforms in the country to formally shift part of the rising fuel burden to passengers as pressure mounts on drivers’ earnings.
- Categories
- Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Analysis: Inside Southeast Asia’s Scam Compounds: A Trafficked Worker Tells of Fraud, Coercion and Torture
Many powerful entities, including criminal organizations, businesses and politicians, have an interest in the system continuing. If scam compounds close in Cambodia, they will open elsewhere.
- Categories
- Technology, Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Analysis: AI Optimism Surges in Asia, Unlike in the U.S.
New research shows Americans are far less excited about AI — and far less trusting of regulators — than their counterparts across Asia.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Global
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Efishery Founder Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison
An Indonesian court has sentenced eFishery founder Gibran Huzaifah to nine years in prison over a fraud scandal that exposed inflated financial reporting and shook Southeast Asia’s startup investment market.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Investing
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- agtech, regulations, startups, venture capital
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