Identy eyes African market with expansion to Kenya and Nigeria

Biometric authentication firm Identy has announced a strategic expansion into Africa, targeting markets that are currently investing in public digital infrastructure (DPI), such as Kenya and Nigeria.

The U.S.-based company says that its technology is tailored to the continent’s unique developmental needs. In some countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, less than 70 percent of the adult population has basic identification.

Instead of offering expensive and inflexible infrastructure, Identy plans to offer African countries software solutions that can minimize reliance on specialized biometric hardware. This will allow governments to access underserved communities, the company explains in a release.

Identy offers contactless fingerprint and face biometrics with liveness detection.

“Our technology supports biometric capture using standard smartphones, processes identity documents, issues digital identities to individuals lacking formal identification, and facilitates large-scale biometric verification and deduplication,” says the company’s co-founder, Antony Vendhan.

Identy is currently focusing its expansion on Kenya and Nigeria, where it has offices. Other African markets will be added in the future, according to the firm.

Last year, the company completed the MOSIP partner certification process for its automated biometric identification system (ABIS) and added it to the MOSIP marketplace for deployment in national digital identity programs.

“MOSIP marketplace listing isn’t just about technical certification  – it’s about giving governments in Latin America, Africa and Asia a credible alternative to legacy ABIS vendors,” Vendhan said in an announcement at the time.

The firm has also appointed a regional leadership for Africa, naming Matus Kapusta as Product Director for its ABIS and Olajide Olasiyan-Ola as Regional Head for West Africa.

Identy has also recently named a new Director of Business Development, Joseph Ferrigno, a former U.S. federal law enforcement executive.

Article Topics

Africa  |  appointments  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  Identy  |  Kenya  |  Nigeria