African nations making digital ID gains in the face of common challenges

Several countries in Africa are on the right track with their national digital ID projects, but this is not coming on a platter of gold. Testimonies from almost half a dozen ID authorities at ID4Africa Day 1 showed that they face common problems which can be effectively put under control if the right package of solutions is deployed.

Representatives of ID authorities from Benin, Malawi, Mauritania, Tanzania, and Somalia explained their respective journeys, challenges faced, lessons learnt and ambitions for the future.

Through country progress reports, they demonstrated how they are already tackling some of these challenges which range from limited infrastructure and funding, weak or inexistent regulatory and governance frameworks, concerns about data privacy and security, and poor awareness or scepticism among citizens about the ID programs, to cite these few. These hurdles notwithstanding, their ID progress has been significant with all of them announcing bold ambitions.

Somalia’s 15M enrollments target

One curious ambition is Somalia’s where the country launched its national digital ID system only two years ago with the help of Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), but is hoping to enroll 15 million citizens by the end of this year.

Speaking for the country, the head of its ID Authority – the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) – Abdiwali Ali Abdulle, explained Somalia’s trajectory in building a foundational digital ID system that seeks to simplify access to services from the private and government sectors.

From a fragmented system shaken partly by years of political instability, NIRA is now leading Somalia in the implementation of a national digital ID system that holds great promise for the country’s socio-economic growth, he said.

Factors driving the success of the ID system, Abdulle noted, include strong political will from the federal government, demand from the financial sector to improve financial inclusion, the need to unify fragmented ID systems across federal states, and support for law enforcement and counter-terrorism.

Apart from the plan to enroll 15 million people by the end of this year and reaching all adults in the country by 2030 in line with the SDG16.9 target, Abdulle said they also aim to launch online biometric registration to allow self-registration via mobile devices from November, expand verification tools to include iris scans, continue mass registration, and enable regional integration and cross-border interoperability.

Mauritania at over 94 percent ID coverage

For Mauritania, the country has been able to enroll more than 94 percent of the population for national ID since a new ID system was put in place in 2020.

The Director of the National Agency for the Population Register and Secure Titles (ANRPTS), Sidi Ali Nafee, noted that despite the challenges, the country is on the right footing with the putting in place of the Integrated System of Population Management and Secured Titles (SIGPTS), which integrates all government structures involved in the issuance of ID documents.

These efforts, he said, got a boost in 2023 with the launch of a digital ID and digital government platform dubbed Houwiyeti, which means that “citizens no longer need to travel to government offices to obtain services.”

“For example, 70 percent of passport requests are now made through Houwiyeti. Other indicators show that more than 622,000 document extracts were processed this year via the platform,” he said.

Jamii number facilitates service integration in Tanzania

Tanzania’s Director of ID management at the National Identification Authority (NIDA), Edson Guyai, said the country, as of today, has registered over 25 million individuals for the national ID, which accounts for 81 percent of the adult population. He added that so far, the ID system has been integrated by over 124 public and private institutions with verification services having generated around $45.4 million.

Guyai also explained the integration of the Jamii number which is helping in universal health insurance coverage, financial inclusion through mobile wallets which they plan to launch, as well as social protection programs intended for socially vulnerable groups.

Despite challenges such as legal constraints, funding gaps, geographical barriers and an acute lack of birth certificates, Guyai mentioned that Tanzania has been able to record successes thanks to strong government will, prioritized financing, strong stakeholder engagement, as well as use cases that drive uptake, citing here the government’s mandatory SIM card registration policy which has faced criticism over data protection concerns. He said their future plans include enabling ID issuance from birth, introducing infant biometric capture, expanding the legal reforms and infrastructure upgrade.

A story of bold reforms in Benin

Benin’s own story was told by the Director General of the National Agency for the Identification of Persons, Aristide Adjinacou, who explained the country’s journey in transforming identity management and civil registration. “Our story is one of bold reforms, deep integration, and pragmatic innovation,” he said, citing the numerous national ID reforms which have taken place in the country since 2016.

“Our digital identity strategy focuses on connecting key national registers. We link identity to civil status, service delivery, and the economy. This digital backbone enables institutions to verify, share, and use data seamlessly,” he said.

“Today, more than 30 million people are registered in our ID database, that’s close to 98% of the population. Over 10 million identity documents have been issued. We process close to 200,000 biometric authentications per day, mainly through mobile operators. Our register is connected to over 80 institutions.”

Malawi on path to inclusion with digital ID system

The Principal Secretary of Malawi’s National Registration Bureau, Mphatso Sambo, took attendees through his country’s ID experience. He said between 2015 and 2025, Malawi has undergone huge evolution in terms of modernizing its ID architecture through several efforts including enhancing ID access in rural communities, push for child registration, and putting in place a sustainable financing and management plan.

These and many factors, he explained, have led to the country registering over 12.5 million people in its ID database and integrating over 30 public and private institutions. The ID card, he said, has several use cases including election registration and social grants benefits. Malawi’s ID system has been hailed in the past by the UNDP as a tool of social inclusion.

Article Topics

Africa  |  Benin  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  ID4Africa  |  ID4Africa 2025  |  Jamii Number  |  Malawi  |  Mauritania  |  national ID  |  Somalia  |  Tanzania