Benin, Ghana and Rwanda completed the first technical phase of a cross-border digital identity pilot project on 20 October, developed by pan-African technology alliance Smart Africa. The initiative aims to enable the verification of citizens’ identities across different countries without the need to centralise personal data in a single database.

The project is built on the principle of interoperability — the capacity of different information systems to communicate, exchange data, and operate in a coordinated manner even when running on distinct platforms. In the context of digital identity, this capability allows credentials issued by one country to be verified through the identification systems of another.

In this first phase, an initial connection was established between the national identification systems of the three countries via the Smart Africa Data Exchange (SADX), a platform designed to facilitate the secure exchange of information. The model allows duly authorised entities to verify a citizen’s identity in real time while keeping biometric and demographic data under the control of each respective country.

The architecture rests on two complementary components: the Smart Africa Trust Alliance (SATA), subscribed to by 19 African countries, which establishes governance and trust rules; and the SADX, which provides the technological infrastructure for data exchange. Under this decentralised model, verification requests are encrypted and routed between authorised national systems, with no need to consolidate records in a continental repository.

According to Lacina Koné, Director-General and Chief Executive of Smart Africa, the initiative seeks to bring national digital systems closer together without compromising state sovereignty. He argues that interoperability could drive the integration of African digital economies while preserving each country’s control over its citizens’ data.

Despite the technical progress made, the tests were conducted in a controlled environment and relied exclusively on synthetic data — that is, artificially generated information — with no real citizen records used. Smart Africa expects to conduct a first controlled operational test in early 2027, involving institutional systems used at border posts and in electronic immigration controls.

At a later stage, the solution could be extended to the private sector, including banks, telecommunications operators, and hospitality businesses, enabling the verification of African citizens’ identities in other countries across the continent. This expansion will, however, depend on technological adaptations and regulatory authorisations — notably to ensure compliance with customer identification rules and anti-money laundering regulations.

The use of real data will remain subject to approval by national data protection authorities and to the establishment of legal mechanisms governing access to information, citizen consent, and liability in the event of a data breach. According to Smart Africa, consolidating this framework will be essential to transforming the pilot into an operational cross-border digital identity infrastructure.

Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=557548