Catching up on some recent digital identity news or how can national identity systems help (especially in emerging countries)

Convenience, efficiency, and lower risk of cybercrime are the main benefits that come to my mind when I think about digital identity. Also, privacy leaks, data misuse, and reduced trust in government.?

Going beyond this discussion, I searched practical use cases where digital identity has been revealed to be a good option. I won't be focusing on eIDAS/the European digital identity wallet, as I was curious to see what is happening in other parts of the world.

#technologyforgood #digitalidentity #emergingmarkets

Here is what I found:

Ghana is making steps toward achieving a digital identity?connected to the bank account. Ghana’s national ID card will be complemented with a digital version of the identity credential (to be rolled out in 2024). The digital version will have all the features and functionalities of the physical card. Furthermore, the user’s details will be contained in a chip embedded in their devices through a mobile application. As Ghana doesn’t yet have all the requisite infrastructure to verify digital ID everywhere in the country, the Ghana Card will not replace the physical card. Interestingly, the digital version of the card has also a payment feature that is dormant but might become active in 2024. Taking into account the upward trajectory rate of mobile phone penetration in Ghana, the Ghana Card has the potential to make huge contributions to the country's economic development by facilitating access to a wide range of services.

Aadhaar and other digital public infrastructure projects (DPIs) bring significant value across India’s Internet economy. The national digital identity program, Aadhaar, is used to help different communities by linking specific identifiers with the right recipients. These include farmers and construction workers. In 2023, farmers in Karnataka suffered an extended drought. Local authorities thought about the distribution of drought relief and subsidies to help small and marginal farmers in the area. To identify the farmers in need of help, the government of Karnataka will link all records of Rights, Tenancy, and Crops (RTC) to Aadhaar. The RTCs to be linked to Aadhaar contain information on a farmer’s land, soil, crops, and more. Once identified, money will directly be credited to the beneficiary account without manual intervention. Another initiative involves attaching an identifier to construction workers via Aadhaar, to ensure that benefits and entitlements can travel with migrant workers as they move across the country.

Malaysia’s digital identity – known as MyDigital ID – will be available to the general public by July next year. MyDigital ID will be rolled out in four phases, starting with the members of the Malaysian Cabinet and followed by civil servants, government benefits recipients, and finally the general public. The government has more plans for MyDigital ID, including using the digital ID to distribute aid more efficiently during natural disasters and other crises.

The Indonesian government is preparing to introduce a digital identification system?equivalent to a physical identity card, incorporating essential attributes like the unique personal identification number (NIK), name, date of birth, gender, and address.

Also, relevant in the digital identity realm, was?the launch China made on 12 December 2023 - RealDID, a new digital identity service?by the Blockchain Service Network (BSN) aimed at providing a ‘front-end anonymity and back-end real-name’ digital identity network. The RealDID service is said to offer a range of applications, including real-name confirmation, data encryption flow, privacy protection login, custom business DID, and identity certificate services.

There is a lot of work in the digital identity space in Africa and Asia, which might transform local economies, making them more inclusive and competitive. I love that technology/digitalization/smartphone penetration/the internet can become a resource these countries can tap into, a resource that cannot be stolen from them/abused – hopefully -, granting local communities more opportunities.