In September, Ethiopia signed a contract with Indian company Madras Security Printing to print one million digital ID cards worth $300,000. At the same time, the country signed another agreement to make digital identification the main identification document for civil servants, a document that the authorities intend to make compulsory for banking operations.
But the country does not intend to stop there. A tender has just been opened for the supply of 6,000 biometric registration kits for the implementation of the Ethiopia National Identification Program (NIDP). According to studies, the trend is the same almost everywhere in Africa. The biometrics market in Africa and the Middle East is expected to grow at an annual rate of 21%, and the global biometrics industry is expected to reach $82 billion by 2027, according to the report. “Biometrics – Global Market Trajectory & Analytics 2020” published by the American research firm. However, the question of protection remains crucial, especially since only 24 African countries have adopted laws and regulations to protect personal data.
Development vector
And according to experts, digital identity is a tool that can allow better control of demographic data and many others. It also allows populations, according to Joseph Atick, president of ID4Africa, that the sector that benefits the most from digital identity is that of financial inclusion. In the sense that it allows individuals to access a bank account. Then, he adds, the convergence between social safety nets and digital identity is essential to establish the social register of the population. However, in Africa, not all countries have the same level of adoption of digital identity. Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Algeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Togo and even Ethiopia.
In Senegal, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Telecommunications of Senegal launched the National Digital Identity (DCI) project. With a budget of 3.2 billion FCFA ($5.1 million). Ultimately, it must facilitate the authentication of citizens, improve the capacity of State information systems and the exchange of data on people and businesses, in order to promote the inclusion of all citizens, achieve the objectives of sustainable development, as well as wealth creation.