Bhutan brings first national digital ID program to Global Acceptance Network

The Kingdom of Bhutan is the first national digital identity program in the world to join the Global Acceptance Network, which is operated by a dedicated foundation.

The Global Acceptance Network is a cross-sector initiative in support of making verifiable data available, trusted and interoperable. The GAN was soft-launched on September 17 with more than 30 founding member organizations.

Bhutan launched an innovative National Digital Identity (NDI) system based on self-sovereign identity (SSI) in 2023, and it has since been working through the practical challenges of decentralized identity on a national scale.

The country announced its membership in the network at the Bhutan Innovation Forum this week.

Bhutan is joining the GAN as an ecosystem member, which positions it to integrate its NDI with other digital identity systems and trust ecosystems, according to the announcement. Doing so would allow Bhutanese people to use their digital credentials around the world.

“By joining the Global Acceptance Network, Bhutan is taking the next step towards ensuring our digital credentials are not only secure within our borders but trusted globally,” says Jigme Tenzing, secretary of Bhutan’s government technology agency. “Our vision is to empower every Bhutanese citizen with control over their own data, while enabling seamless, verifiable exchanges with the rest of the world. GAN provides the interoperable trust network we need to build this truly interconnected and trusted digital future.”

Platinum members of the GAN Foundation include Accenture, NTT Digital and Gen, and other ecosystem members include Trinsic and Yoti. Interac, cheqd, Danube Tech and GLEIF are also involved.

GAN Ambassadors include Ethiopia National ID ED Yodahe Zemichael and 11 other representatives from the public and private sector.

Article Topics

Bhutan  |  Bhutan NDI  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  Global Acceptance Network  |  interoperability  |  trust framework