Nigeria explores avenues for digital trust collaboration with Trust Stamp

Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) recently held discussions with officials of Trust Stamp to examine the possibilities of establishing government-level collaboration on building a solid digital trust framework for the country.

In a news release, Trust Stamp described the discussions which took place recently in Abuja as “strategic.”  According to the company, NITDA expressed interest in its AI-powered proprietary biometric tokenization technology, which is also being used by a mobile telecommunications company in the country for SIM swap fraud prevention. Nigeria’s neighbor Ghana is also working with Trust Stamp for tokenized digital ID infrastructure.

Speaking during the Abuja meeting, NITDA Director General Abdullahi Kashifu Inuwa, stated that for Nigeria to attain its goals of a trillion dollar digital economy by 2030, digital trust must be fully in the picture. Such a framework, the official said, will guarantee the safety and security of personal data of citizens participating in the digital economy.

“Trust remains a critical foundation for the growth of the digital economy. Building trust in digital platforms and services is key to accelerating adoption and unlocking opportunities across sectors,” Inuwa said.

He recalled NITDA’s mandate, saying it is to help the government put in place what he called a “supportive regulatory and policy framework” to facilitate secure identity verification with advanced tools by small and medium-sized enterprises that form a great part of the national digital economy.

Also speaking during the meeting, the Vice President of Trust Stamp, Jonathan Pasha, said the company was open to collaborate with the Nigerian government, and to support its ongoing digital transformation. He spoke about his company’s digital trust expertise explaining how useful it is for advanced identity verification, fraud prevention, and even financial inclusion.

As a follow-up on the discussions, both parties agreed to pursue technical consultation-+s in order to draw a clear plan for concrete collaboration.

NITDA is at the forefront of Nigerian’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) implementation. Last year, it published draft technical standards for the initiative, requesting inputs from the public.

The agency is also leading a digital literacy initiative which seeks to reach a 95 percent target by 2030.

Among other groups of persons, the initiative targets civil servants and intends to equip them with the necessary digital skills needed for a more effective service delivery.

National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members are supporting the digital literary drive, and some of them where recently rewarded with cash and digital devices for their outstanding contributions.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  digital ID infrastructure  |  Nigeria  |  NITDA  |  trust framework  |  Trust Stamp