Pangea signs $70M biometric contract with Congo

Israeli firm Pangea has been awarded a government contract by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) worth more than $70 million.

As part of the new public-private partnership (PPP) agreement, the firm will develop and operate a centralized, automated criminal biometric identification system (ABIS) that the DRC government will use to generate certificates of integrity (also known as certificates of non-criminal record) for citizens.

The system will enable the creation of a nationwide digital database that will include the demographic and face and fingerprint biometrics of offenders currently listed in the archive. The database will reportedly be accessible from 150 police stations across the country.

According to Uzy Rozenthal, EVP and GM of government sales at Pangea, making the information available at police stations will make the certificate issuance process much more efficient.

“Digital government services are essential to the countries’ long-term growth, especially those with tremendous economic potential like Congo,” Rozenthal explains.

“Today, we’re able to advance with such a strategic project in a remarkably short period of time and achieve major transformation with solutions that have proven themselves around the world.”

From a technical standpoint, the biometric system will reportedly support various identification features and be protected by security measures to prevent duplication, counterfeiting and other illegal activities.

Pangea and the Congolese Interior Ministry are discussing the possibility of encrypting biometric features in the ABIS, enabling access only after unique applications from authorized individuals.

“We thank the Congolese Government for its confidence in Pangea‘s technological and operational capabilities and for allowing us to set up this vital project,” comments the company’s CEO, Rafi Kaminer.

“Pangea continues to develop capabilities and innovations in our areas of expertise, including new products for eKYC and Smart Border Control. These capabilities will become unique products in the next few months and generate significant revenue in the next few years.”

The PPP comes months after the DRC was in the spotlight for the controversy surrounding who had won a contract to make biometric passports for the country.

More recently, Pangea has unveiled technology capable of performing remote psychophysiological analysis of people.

Article Topics

ABIS  |  Africa  |  background checks  |  biometric database  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  Democratic Republic of Congo  |  government purchasing