Senegal taps inspiration from Togo’s digital ID experience

The Senegalese government is hoping to tap from Togo’s experience to build its digital ID system.  A delegation from Dakar was in Lome recently to understudy Togo’s model and understand how it has been implementing its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) over the years.

Togo is understood to be making considerable progress implementing a MOSIP-based digital ID system since signing an MoU in 2021. The country was also acclaimed a few years ago when it built a platform dubbed Novissi that facilitated government-to-people payments as part of a social protection measure in the peak days of the coronavirus pandemic.

The delegation from Senegal’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy (NCTN) thus met officials of Togo’s National Identification Authority (ANID) to  discuss best practices and approaches to building a secure and trustworthy digital ID system, TechAfrica News reports.

Both countries are part of the West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI), a regional ID initiative supported by the World Bank. Its objective is to enable participating countries build robust foundational ID systems in order to facilitate regional integration, drive financial inclusion, and streamline access to public and private services across several sectors.

The discussion between the Senegalese and Togolese delegations also explored ways to strengthen measures aimed at enhancing the gains of the WURI initiative.

An ANID official, Yasmine Mama, is quoted by Ecofin Agency as saying that the they shared information with the Senegalese delegation about their technical architecture and infrastructure, and how they were able to integrate the MOSIP-based digital ID system to facilitate access to services.

The peer learning engagement is vital for Senegal which is in the process of implementing its New Deal Technologique, a digital transformation strategy launched by the country’s president early this year. It aims to enable the country put in place DPI to propel the nation’s digital transformation. The Gates Foundation is supporting the strategy with $10 million.

With many African countries implementing DPI projects, partnerships and collaboration are seen as a vital aspect in enabling them reach their goals. This aspect came up strongly when nations shared their digital ID journeys during the ID4Africa 2025 AGM.

Some examples of bilateral partnerships on DPI development include those of Zambia and Ethiopia, and Togo and Kazakhstan, just to mention  few.

Other initiatives like the 50-in-5 campaign are anchored on the belief that countries can put in place secure, inclusive and interoperable DPI by working together through the sharing of knowledge and technical expertise.

Article Topics

Africa  |  Agence Nationale de l’Identification (ANID)  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  MOSIP (Modular Open Source Identity Platform)  |  New Deal Technologique  |  Senegal  |  Togo  |  WURI