Africa PKI Consortium builds the continent’s trust layer

“If the continent is to achieve its sovereignty it needs to have control over every ingredient that is used,” said ID4Africa EC Dr. Joseph Atick, introducing the Africa PKI Consortium (AfPKIC) in the final session of day 2 of the 2026 AGM.

Nigerian National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) DG and CEO Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote and Ghanian National Information Technology Agency (NITA) Director of Technical Services Solomon Richardson presented the initiative.

Coker-Odusote and Richardson are also both ID4Africa Ambassadors, and ID4Africa is supporting AfPKIC as an incubator.

The consortium to work on the continent’s Public Key Infrastructure was launched in 2025, with an address by Richardson at the Cloud Signature Consortium AGM and Africa PKI Forum Meeting, held in Cape Town South Africa last April. A first AGM followed at Ghana ICT Week in December. Supply Network Africa reports it traces the Consortium’s roots back to the 2024 Nairobi declaration, with five countries committing to work on harmonizing their PKI regulations.

Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon and Uganda are the founding countries, but several others have joined since, along with NGOs.

There is also a global PKI Consortium, which counts Thales, IBM, Entrust, HID and Visa among its members.

“You can’t do anything regarding identity without PKI,” says Coker-Odusote.

To enable continental digital identity progress, therefore, the Africa PKI Consortium is intended to strengthen capacity, foster collaboration and develop common understanding of the governance, deployment and sustainability of PKI, as the trust layer of Africa’s digital future.

Richardson noted the importance of PKI for digital IDs, legally recognized e-signatures, secure APIs, eHealth, financial services, eProcurement, smart borders and intercontinental trade. The integrity of remote biometrics also depends on PKI.

The national PKI secures the country’s own systems, and also provides the basis for cross-border interactions.

“If you don’t have plans to utilize PKI, you are actually isolating your country,” Richardson says.

While many countries have made some investment in PKI, thus far Richardson assesses Africa is still essentially a greenfield.

National PKIs cannot be deployed in siloes, however, and still deliver their intended benefits. A harmonized approach is therefore crucial, including legal frameworks, interoperability profiles and mutual recognition of digital signatures. Cybersecurity alignment and audit frameworks must be put in place.

AfPKIC operates on five strategic pillars: standards and interoperability; policy and regulation; capacity building; research and innovation; and partnerships and sustainability. The organization has launched four working groups so far.

The early stage of Africa’s PKI adoption can also be a strategic advantage, Richardson states, with the African PKI Consortium leading the charge as a peer-to-peer non-profit organization. As such, it hopes to help Africa get PKI right the first time.

Article Topics

Africa  |  Africa PKI Consortium  |  cross-border data sharing  |  digital identity  |  ID4Africa  |  ID4Africa 2026  |  PKI  |  tech sovereignty