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.
DPI is fundamentally changing this paradigm by reducing the marginal cost of serving SMEs to near zero while enabling real-time risk assessment. India's JAM trinity has enabled micro-lending to 200 million previously unbanked small businesses, while Brazil's PIX instant payment system allows street vendors to accept digital payments instantly. As central banks explore CBDCs and regulators address AI and blockchain integration, the critical challenge is designing DPI that maximizes SME inclusion while maintaining financial stability.
The panel will examine successful DPI implementations that reduce SME barriers to formal financial services, exploring design principles that serve micro-enterprises alongside large corporations. Discussions will cover how open frameworks and APIs enable fintech innovation while maintaining stability, governance models for cross-border DPI interoperability, and integration of emerging technologies like AI and blockchain. The session will address the role of development finance institutions in ensuring DPI adoption benefits underserved SME segments in emerging markets.