Pilot national digital ID program rolls out
Mamo Mihretu, Senior Advisor and Chief Trade Negotiator at Office of the Prime Minister tweeted on Wednesday that a pilot national digital ID program has enrolled at national level.
Mamo added: “The program proves identity for life to all residents in the country is a foundational platform that helps accelerate electronic service delivery and access to services.”
The government’s digital strategy 2020 put an initiative to issue a unique ID in Ethiopia and stated the current community managed Kebele ID system enjoys wide coverage but does not provide the desired functionalities of a foundational ID.
In June 2020, the Ministry of Peace of Ethiopia on inked a deal with International Institute for Information Technology of India to introduce modern digital national identification card (ID). The two sides have signed a memorandum of understanding, which allows Ethiopia to introduce digital IDs for 30,000 people at pilot level initially.
It is also recalled that the Prime Minister charged the Ministry of Peace in 2020 with developing a national ID strategy which since then launched a pilot for a digital ID in Addis Abeba.
