WURI digital ID project improving access to public services in Benin

Many citizens in Benin now have easy access to public and private sector services thanks to a foundational identity (fID) certificate introduced thanks to the World Bank-supported Regional West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI) project.

This is according to a World Bank blog article which explains how citizens in the west African country have been able to show proof of their identity in order to obtain important services thanks to the foundational identity system in place.

The fID, according to the blog, capitalized on the government’s efforts between 2017 and 2018 to capture the biometrics of citizens for a national ID program.

A combination of these efforts has led to about 99 percent of Beninese citizens now boasting of a legal and digital identity with which they can access diverse services in sectors such as education, finance and government social assistance programs.

The fID is known variously as the “Certificat NPI/fID” or the “C’est moi” card.

Per the blog, the WURI project caused 2.2 million more people to be enrolled into Benin’s national digital identification system, and 4,000 of those enrolled are Beninese living outside the country.

The article cites Catherine (a 13-year-old school girl) and Donatienne (a 44-year-old resident) who had their lives changed because they were able to obtain the fID which made it easier for them to get the public services they want. While the former says the ID has made it easier for her to put together administrative documents for her school admission, the latter confesses she is now able to easily lay hands on loans and grants to carry on with her business.

The fID is carried on a mobile application that is linked to a variety of services in Benin. It facilitates identity authentication with the use of a QR-code, and makes it difficult for any fraudulent identity transactions to happen.

The WURI program, implemented with the assistance of the ECOWAS Commission, involves six countries and the goal is to enable each of the governments put in place foundational ID systems that facilitate obtention of government-issued proof of identity documents.

Article Topics

Africa  |  Benin  |  biometrics  |  Certificat NPI/FID  |  digital ID  |  ECOWAS  |  government services  |  identity document  |  legal identity  |  World Bank  |  WURI