Faydaverse officially enters Africa’s DPI market

Faydaverse was officially inaugurated as a state-owned enterprise (SOE) under the umbrella of government strategic investment arm Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) on Tuesday. In its new guise, the organization’s mandate is to develop, operate and scale trusted digital public infrastructure (DPI) solutions to support people, businesses and institutions.

Ethiopia’s national digital ID system is nearing 50 million registrations, and its transition recognizes the evolution of that system’s operator into an institution designed to deliver innovation at scale for sustainable impact, according to the government announcement.

The transition of the National ID Program (NIDP) to a public enterprise became clear earlier this year when it joined the EIH portfolio.

The new status gives Faydaverse a stronger institutional structure enabling it to expand its capabilities, deepen partnerships, attract investment and continue developing digital solutions to support the country’s priorities, the government says. Fayda’s role within national digital transformation strategy Digital Ethiopia 2030 includes delivering public services online to help extend their reach to remote communities and also drive down costs.

Yodahe Zemichael, executive director of the NIDP since its inception in 2021, has been appointed Faydaverse CEO.

“From its early days as an ID pilot project, Fayda made bold decisions that made it an international benchmark for DPI such as its inclusive approach for digital ID and prioritizing authentication when registration numbers were still at their infancy,” Zemichael says. “Today, when officially marking FaydaVerse as a DPI enterprise under EIH, you can see that those ambitious, bold yet impactful early beginnings are still with us.”

Zemichael told the audience of a recent Biometric Update webinar on the MOSIP ecosystem that Fayda is up to 2 million authentication requests a day and growing, and discussed how this volume drives the program’s financial sustainability.

One-hundred and fifty enterprises have integrated Fayda to carry out biometric KYC checks, and it has been used for over 190 million authentications so far.

A World Bank report published earlier this year called on the country to accelerate the development of the Faydaverse business layer as it continues integrating government services with the national ID. The report also recommended Ethiopia go further with its DPI roadmap.

Exporting DPI expertise

And the ambitions of Faydaverse do not end at Ethiopia’s borders. The new name was publicly revealed when the country signed an MoU with Mozambique to help that country set up its DPI.

EIH’s announcement specifically points to Faydaverse’s position as a candidate for such international partnerships, and a potential role in advancing continental priorities like Smart Africa and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“Digital public infrastructure is becoming a fundamental driver of economic growth, financial inclusion, and efficient service delivery,” says EIH CEO Dr. Brook Taye. “The establishment of Faydaverse as a State-Owned Enterprise and its inclusion in the Ethiopian Investment Holdings portfolio represent an important step in strengthening one of Ethiopia’s most strategic digital assets. Through EIH’s governance framework, investment expertise, and portfolio support, Faydaverse will be positioned to scale sustainably, attract partnerships, and create long-term value for Ethiopia.”

During the Biometric Update webinar, Zemichael also emphasized NIDP’s efforts to nurture expertise, including engineers, while building up its experience deploying large-scale digital identity infrastructure. Some of that expertise and experience is now available to other countries.

Article Topics

digital public infrastructure  |  Ethiopia  |  Ethiopia National ID Program (NIDP)  |  Fayda  |  FaydaVerse Digital Solutions Enterprise