India’s digital public infrastructure diplomacy in Africa: Development goals, co-creation and structural frictions

The strategic recalibration of India–Africa relations in a changing international landscape is marked by a pragmatic shift from ‘moral geographies’ of anti-colonialism to techno-infrastructural cooperation. This article examines India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) as a pathway for advancing diplomatic engagement with African countries. It provides a critical analysis of this diplomatic manoeuvre in terms of India’s interests and implementation, both in relation to African countries and within India itself. The article explores India’s DPI diplomacy in Africa, with an emphasis on shared developmental goals, the promotion of a co-creation narrative between India and African countries and the recognition of structural frictions that may hinder such engagement. While DPI diplomacy has been portrayed as India’s ‘digital success model’, the article argues for a more critical lens to be applied to its export of DPI to other contexts in order that both India and Africa may benefit.