The importance of biometric legal identity from birth is something of a theme this week as UNICEF pushes the concept…
Articles By Frank Hersey
Frank Hersey is a tech reporter for Biometric Update covering Africa-related biometrics and digital identity news. He is based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Before arriving in West Africa last year, Frank was based in Beijing and worked primarily for TechNode, the China partner for TechCrunch.
Digital ID in Africa this week: biometrics for ECOWAS free movement, widespread passport reform
Neighbors Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire have come to the fore this week. The two members of the Economic Community of…
Digital ID in Africa this week: biometric verification for Somali military pay, SIM registration in Tanzania
African biometric and digital ID issues continue apace both on and off the continent. In Somalia a scheme to use…
Digital ID in Africa this week: Huduma Namba to become virtually compulsory, Ghana gets PKI, Liberia runs out of biometric passports
It’s been two steps forward, one step back for biometrics in Africa this week. Liberia has issued a cancellation notice…
ID PASS: how biometrics allow the live generation of NGO field reports
Biometrics-enabled smartcards can be used by humanitarian organizations not just for providing services and decentralized identification to end-users in aid…
Digital ID in Africa this week: fresh calls for biometric voting in Zimbabwe, self-reliance in Nigeria and a possible UN biometric anti-terrorism platform
Biometrics news span issues of self-reliance, politics and counter-terrorism across Africa this week. Nigeria and Ghana continue to make progress…
Digital ID in Africa this week: mobile money, tracking teachers and large SIM fines
National telecom watchdogs are fining mobile operators for not keeping up with SIM card registrations linked to ID, while in…
Omidyar Network hopes to ensure African digital ID is ‘Good ID’
The philanthropic investment outfit Omidyar Network has taken a keen interest in the development of ID systems in Africa. It…
Digital ID in Africa this week: Biometric ID for Guinea, continued ID controversy for Côte d’Ivoire
West Africa comes to the foreground this week in African digital ID news as Guinea announces plans for a comprehensive…
Mastercard and Orange: why global brands are delving into African biometrics
The speed at which African nations are implementing biometric systems for national ID and electoral rolls has created something of…
