Somali digital transformation leader Abdullahi Bihi Hussein has been named among the DPI 50: Leaders of Digital Public Infrastructure, a global list announced yesterday in New York during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81).
The Digital Public Infrastructure 50 was announced following a high-level roundtable in New York, co-hosted by Apolitical and the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on GovTech and Digital Public Infrastructure. The initiative recognizes 50 individuals from around the world who are contributing to the development and advancement of digital public infrastructure. They also highlight any and all successful architects of Digital Public Infrastructure, such as digital IDs and payment systems, to help other governments learn from their models.
Hussein is the only Somali leader featured on the 2026 DPI 50 list, placing Somalia among the countries represented in this global recognition of leaders working on digital public infrastructure.
Currently serving as Managing Director of the Somali Payment Switch, Hussein plays a significant role in Somalia’s fast-paced digital transformation journey. According to Apolitical, his career has spanned several foundational areas of digital public infrastructure, including connectivity, digital identity and payments.
Hussein also helped in laying the foundations for Somalia’s national digital identity system during his tenure at the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), where he served as Acting Director General. His work contributed to the development of one of Somalia’s most important digital public infrastructure initiatives, designed to provide citizens with a trusted digital identity and support a more efficient and accessible public services. He also served as the Principal Advisor at the Ministry of Communications and Technology while he led the Somali Research and Education Network (SomaliREN).
The DPI 50 recognizes leaders working on the digital foundations that enable individual governments to deliver more accessible, reliable and trustworthy public services. These foundations include digital identity, payments, data exchange and seamless interoperable digital systems.
For Somalia as a country, Hussein’s inclusion in the DPI 50 represents more than an individual’s professional achievement. It brings home international recognition to the many Somali professionals contributing to the country’s digital transformation and to the foundations being built for a more digitally enabled emergent public sector. His recognition also places Somalia within the leading global conversations about how digital infrastructure can support better public services, economic participation and inclusive development.
As Somalia continues to develop its digital infrastructure, recognition of its professionals involved in building these systems provides a unique opportunity to highlight the country’s progress and the expertise emerging from within its public and technology sectors.