Our Journey Towards Lasting Change.
Our Story
As an African non-profit, Digital Frontiers strengthens people and institutions to drive inclusive development in the digital economy. We deliver high-impact learning experiences that empower individuals, support mission-aligned organisations, and help shape the systems that enable lasting change.
Over the past decade, we have established a network of technical experts across various fields, including financial inclusion, gender equity, digital public infrastructure, youth employment, climate resilience, responsible data and consumer trust, regulation, and agricultural innovation. Our services are always grounded in local context, brought to life through distributed, facilitated, and practice-driven learning at scale and with cost efficiency.
We work at two levels:
Empowering professionals, communities, and civil society organisations to build skills, confidence, and networks that unlock opportunities.
Supporting businesses, governments, and regulators to strengthen institutional capacity and foster environments where innovation and inclusion can flourish.
We cultivate an environment for practical learning, collaborative implementation, and inclusive growth across the Global South through three integrated core business lines:
MISSION STATEMENT
Strengthen people and institutions to drive inclusive development in the digital economy, enabling lasting, scalable, and locally grounded change.
VISION STATEMENT
A thriving Global South where local changemakers and institutions co-create inclusive digital systems that unlock opportunity, equity, and lasting impact.
CORE VALUES
- Inclusivity: A commitment to ensuring that everyone, especially underserved communities, can participate in and benefit from the digital economy.
- Collaboration: A belief that lasting progress is built together—through trust, shared purpose, and partnerships across borders and sectors.
- Impact: A commitment to empowering people, strengthening institutions, and helping build systems that drive inclusive, long-term impact.
- Innovation: A commitment to reimagining solutions that unlock opportunity and deliver scalable, sustainable outcomes across the Global South.
- Relevance: A dedication to embedding local insights and lived experiences into everything we do, ensuring relevance and resilience.
How we have evolved
Founded by David Porteous, Gavin Krugel, and Ignacio Mas, Digital Frontiers Institute emerged at a time when digital and inclusive finance were in their early stages. With initial seed funding from Omidyar Network and incubation within Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the organisation’s work in building capacity, capability, and connection helped shape the foundations of what has since become a recognised and dynamic professional sector.
Digital Frontiers Institute received further funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, FSD Africa, and the Mastercard Foundation, and launched its first cohort of the Certificate in Digital Money. Within five years, Digital Frontiers Institute had grown into a trusted brand, making a significant impact in building capacity and capabilities within the Digital Financial Services sector.
We launched our Digital Learning Solutions business line, and following a convening of the global capacity-building industry later that year, it was decided that CGAP’s Gateway Academy would merge with Digital Frontiers Institute’s Digital Learning Solutions to become Gateway. Digital Frontiers was launched as the umbrella brand, incorporating both the Digital Frontiers Institute and Gateway brands. Digital Frontiers Institute continued to train and connect professionals and organisations across the public and private sectors, while Gateway delivered digital learning services for the development sector.
A restructure positioned Digital Frontiers as the brand offering our comprehensive capacity-building programmes and Digital Learning Solutions; while Digital Frontiers Institute remained our school delivering exceptional learning experiences and opportunities for continuous professional development; and Gateway as the marketplace for partner-led online courses. Digital Frontiers also incubated the Alliance of Digital Finance and Fintech Associations.
With the global need to redefine workforce capabilities for the future of work, Digital Frontiers recognised its unique position to stimulate and execute job-creating ecosystems aligned with Sustainable Development Goal innovations. TwentyforGood was launched as a vision to direct at least 20% of the future workforce toward solving the world’s greatest challenges. Digital Frontiers expanded its scope of services to not only provide the knowledge, skills, and community to support this vision but also to co-create and support interventional programmes for more inclusive and equitable economies. Through this initiative, Digital Frontiers expanded its focus areas to include digital public infrastructure, youth employment, agricultural innovation, circular economy, climate action, healthcare innovation, education innovation and more.
Digital Frontiers refined its business model to reflect its growth as an African non-profit driving inclusive development in the digital economy. The organisation now operates across three business lines: Learning Experiences, delivered by Digital Frontiers Institute; Digital Learning Solutions, supporting partners with customised content and platforms; and Programme Delivery, partnering with governments and development actors to implement system-shifting initiatives. Our work spans financial inclusion, gender equity, digital public infrastructure, youth employment, climate resilience, responsible data and consumer trust, regulation and agricultural innovation. This clarified structure enables Digital Frontiers to empower individuals, strengthen institutions, and foster environments for sustainable, locally grounded impact across the Global South.