SOCIAL INCLUSION — DIGITAL IDENTITY A FIRST STEP

by Hussaini Shehu,

Senior Associate @ VerifyMe

According to a USAID report “an estimated 502 million people lack official identification in sub-Saharan Africa”. In West Africa, the identification coverage gap is highest in Nigeria, with about 60–78% of its citizens remain unregistered. Various research conducted conclude that most of the “under-identified” are the poor, mostly located in rural communities and the marginalised (refugees and females).

So the question is why is this the case in Nigeria? What is the relationship between identity, access to social services and improved standard of living for this 60–78%? Where does inclusion come in?

The answer to these questions varies but one thing is for certain and that is unless the identity gap is significantly closed or reduced, many individuals will be unable to access facilities that empower and support them to contribute value towards national development. Social inclusion, in this case, refers to mitigating poverty and upholding human rights for all — all meaning everyone. Digital identities will enable the poor to participate in the evolving modern digital economy.

The two widely accepted classification of digital identification includes “Foundational” and the “Functional”. Example of functional ID — a driver’s license is a functional form of identification which permits a person to drive a vehicle, an international passport is also a functional ID which enables overseas travel. For foundational ID, this is mostly common in institutions as a formal form of identification — example student ID card, office ID, Voters ID etc. Most countries liken the foundational ID to social security number which is linked to other functional ID.

A crucial first step is to enrol and issue a foundational ID to all citizens which in Nigeria context is the National Identity Number issued by NIMC. The prerequisite to issuing a functional ID should be linked to unique number from the foundational ID. This is currently a best practice that is advocated by donor agencies (like The World Bank). Due to the lack of these digital identities, access to social services like micro-loans and health insurance remain out of reach. In the financial services sector, the rich are getting credit while the poor get nothing as like every other type of services — Trust is key.

VerifyMe will always stand in the front line of this issue as “digitizing trust through trusted identities” is its mission. Its plethora of services aid lenders in easily disbursing loans and providing other facilities that borrowers can access to improve their way of life. The entire social services sector will definitely benefit from a more connected and trusted digital identity eco-system.