Digital Identity for Development

As of 2018, the ID4D Global Dataset estimated that there are 1 billion people worldwide who do not have basic identity documents. Nearly one-in-two women in low-income countries do not have their country’s national ID or similar foundational document, hence limiting their access to critical services and participation in formal, political, and economic life. For this reason, ensuring that everyone has access to identification is the explicit objective of SDG 16.9 — to provide legal identity for all by 2030.

In Nigeria, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is tasked with the responsibility to ensure seamless identity enrollment, identity management, and identity verification, among with providing public key infrastructure services to its citizens and residents.

In 2021, after the initial launch of the NIMC MobileID, it was observed that the adoption rate wasn’t optimal.

A user survey was conducted to identify the underlying issues behind the low adoption rate and to gather feedback from users on the app’s user experience and functionality. The survey included 20 participants, who were existing users of the mobile app.

1. How easy was it for you to provision your MobileID? What challenges did you encounter?
2. Do you feel your personal information on the app is secure?
3. Have you had any successful experiences using your MobileID to verify your identity?
4. Did you encounter any issues while printing your NIN slip on the MobileID?
5. How would you rate the convenience of the app in comparison to traditional forms of identification?
6. On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend the app to others?
7. Are there any additional features you would like to see?
8. Do you have any suggestions for how we can improve?

This provided valuable insights that helped inform my approach to improving the overall design of the application.

In the first few months, I worked with a team to redesign the personal identity management dashboard and mobile app for National Identification Number (NIN) Holders in Nigeria.

Afterwards, I went ahead to design the NIN Tokenization system that enabled Enterprises to verify an individual’s identity without the individual exposing his/her NIN. The tokenization of the NIN offers a coded representation (“pseudonymization”) of the actual NIN such that identity verification service providers verifying the identity of a registered person cannot retain and use the individual’s data in a way that puts their data privacy at risk.

This is a crucial feature, considering the fact that the NIN is supposed to give access to identity verification without taking away the security of the NIN holder.

The integration of Tokenization across multiple verification channels and platforms has given the Commission the opportunity to forestall flagrant abuse — harvesting of personal data without the requisite user consent, storage in an unencrypted and insecure database, misuse and, or negligent processing of the NIN by data processors and third parties.

Currently, I’m collaborating with the product team where we are building internal tools that help simplify various digital identity processes.

My focus is on optimizing these systems and services to enable them to scale quickly in order to handle the burgeoning demand for digital identity services across the country.