BHUTAN’S experience in building digital public infrastructure shows that technology alone is not enough to transform development, and that investments in education, research and institutional capacity are just as important as digital systems themselves.
Druk Holding and Investments’ (DHI) Department of Innovation and Technology analyst Namgyal T Gyaltshen
(pic) said Bhutan’s approach has been to develop technology alongside the people and institutions needed to sustain it.
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“The department, established around 2019 after Bhutan identified technology as a way to leapfrog past conventional development pathways, operates under the guiding principle of developing technology with values,” she said at the Sabah Asia-Pacific Impact Investing for Sustainable Development Summit 2026.
Namgyal highlighted that DHI has paired technology development with investments in human capital, rather than focusing solely on building digital platforms.
She said the teams responsible for developing digital systems work alongside teams dedicated to capacity building, while the department has also invested in infrastructure to support STEM education, research capability and collaboration.
“Developing technologies alone isn’t enough for Bhutan. We needed to be able to create some sort of value with the technologies that we were developing,” she added.
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The strategy reflects lessons learned over six to seven years of implementing digital projects across multiple sectors, from artificial intelligence applications to national digital systems.
Among the department’s initiatives was Bhutan’s National Digital Identity project, which began as a small experimental effort before graduating to nationwide implementation in-line with the department’s three-stage approach.
“This staged model – experimentation, pilot projects, and large-scale implementation – enables Bhutan to test innovative technologies on a small scale, learn from implementation, and reduce the risks associated with deploying new digital systems nationally,” she explained.
Drawing on that experience, Namgyal said one of the department’s biggest findings is that expanding digital access by itself does not guarantee meaningful outcomes.
“Physical access is often just a starting point. It’s not enough to simply provide physical access and expect that to be the solution,” she said.
Instead, she argued that digital public infrastructure creates value only when embedded within a broader ecosystem that includes skilled users, capable institutions and long-term technical expertise.
“Technology can only create value when it’s part of a larger system. What that usually means is primarily the people that are going to be using the system, but also the institutions that need to adopt it and the capabilities that are needed to build, maintain and improve the system in the future,” she emphasised.
That philosophy has shaped Bhutan’s wider innovation agenda. Beyond developing digital systems, the department is working to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem by addressing shortages in talent and research capacity.
Namgyal also noted that the government has brought academia into its strategy to help close those gaps and has invested in facilities such as a Super Fab Lab to support research and innovation.
The Super Fab Lab is an advanced digital fabrication centre that provides access to technologies such as 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, robotics and electronics tools. It offers hands-on training and supports students, entrepreneurs, researchers, and businesses in designing, prototyping, and developing innovative products.
By giving people the tools and knowledge to turn ideas into real solutions, it supports local product development, strengthens collaboration between education and industry, and contributes to the country’s long-term economic and technological growth.
The emphasis on education and institutional development represents a broader shift in Bhutan’s digital transformation efforts—from viewing technology as a standalone solution to treating it as one component of a larger development ecosystem.
Namgyal said the country’s experience demonstrates that sustainable digital transformation depends not only on digital infrastructure itself, but also on the education, skills and collaborative institutions that enable technology to deliver long-term public value.
“Bhutan sees technology not as an end in itself, but as a means to foster sustainable progress rooted in its national values,” she concluded.
