Designed for everyone, delivered at pace: Silverstripe at Digitising Government NZ

Yesterday at Tākina in Wellington, the Digitising Government New Zealand conference brought together a collective of government leaders, technologists, and policy makers. Held on 18 March, the event was a dedicated forum for accelerating public sector transformation during a cost-constrained environment.

Silverstripe was one of the proud sponsors at this event, delivered by Tech New Zealand and Brightstar, and supported by Government Chief Digital Office (GCDO), Digital Identity New Zealand, and AI Forum New Zealand.

Our CEO, Sigurd Magnusson, took the stage to present: “Building for nation-scale and delivering at record speed — The MyMzansi Story”.

He shared how Silverstripe moved from the fictional proof-of-concept Genovia to the real-world MyMzansi platform in just 10 weeks, proving that when we treat delivery as the only strategy that matters, we can solve the ‘hurry up and wait’ crisis for all New Zealanders.

Some key highlights from his keynote:

• The "hurry up and wait" reality: Inefficiencies in government services aren't just administrative hurdles; they are human crises. Sigurd highlighted that for some, like those in South Africa waiting 14 hours in the sun for an ID, digital access is the difference between receiving essential social grants or going without.
• DPI as a "lego-block" solution: Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) provides a modular approach to government tech. By using open-source, interchangeable building blocks for identity, payments, and data exchange, nations can "plug and play" what they need without rebuilding from scratch or facing vendor lock-in.
• Radical inclusion and dignity: True digital transformation must reach everyone. MyMzansi was designed for radical inclusion, using zero-rated data (making the site free to browse) and Bluetooth validation for those in rural areas without internet signal, ensuring that dignity and access aren't limited by a person’s data balance.
• The 10-week blueprint: By leveraging existing prototypes (like Silverstripe’s fictional nation, Genovia), Silverstripe proved that moving from intent to implementation can happen at record speed. MyMzansi went from a roadmap to a live platform in just 10 weeks, demonstrating that "leapfrogging" is possible when you move with purpose.
• Delivery is the only strategy: Sigurd challenged the room to move beyond writing more strategy documents. He argued that the "speed-to-value crisis" is a delivery issue, not a policy issue—action is the only way to meet the exponentially rising expectations of citizens.
• DPI is a "team sport": Success isn't about the code; it’s about the human element. Effective digital transformation requires deep collaboration between an international "network of the willing"—combining public sector expertise with private sector innovation to build a cohesive digital ecosystem.

A couple of months ago, Kathryn Ryan from RNZ spoke with Sigurd, on Nine to Noon about MyMzansi—a South African app designed to give people a single, trusted way to access government services more easily, efficiently, and cost-effectively.

MyMzansi uses Silverstripe’s open-source DPI Connect technology, developed in partnership with organisations across South Africa, New Zealand, India, the UK, and beyond.

As Kathryn noted during the interview: “New Zealand's company Silverstripe was brought in to help build this app, and did so within a ten-week period, something many companies have taken years to build.” Listen to the full interview here(opens in new tab).

Panel: Digital Public Infrastructure: From buzzword to backbone

Sigurd also joined the panel titled: “Digital Public Infrastructure: From buzzword to backbone” alongside Alan Carnaby (Director - Smart Economy Team, MBIE). The discussion moved beyond theory to focus on how shared building blocks—like identity, payments, and data exchange—can reduce duplication and lower costs across government.

The panel highlighted that DPI is a "team sport," requiring collaboration between the public and private sectors to ensure systems are interoperable, secure, and built to last.

It was a pleasure connecting with so many of you at our booth. Thank you for the insightful conversations and for sharing your visions for the future of digital government.

Shout out to Tech New Zealand and Brightstar for putting together such a great event. It was a privilege to be involved, and we look forward to seeing how these ideas evolve by the time we meet again next year.