5 ms·

Ethiopia gets $350M World Bank financing for its digital ID project (2024)

53 points by tinfoilhatter 8mo ago

dzhiurgis 8mo ago
$2.54 per person. They earn something like $300 per month.
tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
Ethiopia is in the process of implementing a nationwide digital ID program called Fayda ID. Fayda ID is an implementation of the open source platform MOSIP [1]. The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is a strategic partner and funder of the MOSIP technology platform. [2] The digital ID is required by citizens for access to banking, obtaining a drivers license, obtaining SIM cards, and other essential services citizens rely on. [3] The government of Ethiopia is now receiving funding from NGOs such as the World Bank to implement their national digital ID program. [4] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayda_ID https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayda_ID [2] https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/mosip-digital-id-systems https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/mosip-digital... [3] https://id.et/benefits https://id.et/benefits [4] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/12/13/world-bank-supports-afe-ethiopias-digital-id-project-to-increase-access-to-services-and-economic-opportunities https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/12/13/w...
- seanw444 8mo ago
  > The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is a strategic partner and funder of the MOSIP technology platform. Because of course it is.
  - alephnerd 8mo ago
    MOSIP is Indian [0][1][2]. India is exporting multiple different stacks for Digital Public Infrastructure. This project in Ethiopia is itself being pushed by the Indian government [3][4] and is part of India's larger "Global South" strategy [5]. I guess the question you should be asking is why the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has becoming intertwined with Indian geopolitical power projection. [0] - https://www.mosip.io/mosip_project https://www.mosip.io/mosip_project [1] - https://www.mosip.io/governance https://www.mosip.io/governance [2] - https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2 https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2 [3] - https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-with-ethiopia-modi-pitches-for-shared-global-south-vision/ https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-... [4] - https://pulseofafrica.info/innovation/119 https://pulseofafrica.info/innovation/119 [5] - https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handbook.pdf https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handb...
- mdni007 8mo ago
  Is it impossible for white billionaires to stop using Africa as a playground for their sick and depraved experiments?
  - alephnerd 8mo ago
    It's an Indian government project though - the entire MOSIP project was developed in an Indian public university [0] and is directly tied with India's "global south" strategy [1]. Plus the majority of it's governance board is associated with the Indian government or Tata Group. Digital Public Infrastructure in the "Global South" is India's attempt at building a digital version of OBOR [2]. [0] - https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2 https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2 [1] - https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-with-ethiopia-modi-pitches-for-shared-global-south-vision/ https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-... [2] - https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handbook.pdf https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handb...
    - senkora 8mo ago
      Since I had to look it up, OBOR = One Belt One Road = Belt and Road Initiative, which is China's project for building infrastructure in developing countries to promote tighter economic integration with China. It's a more literal translation of the Chinese name "一带一路".
    - throquejejn 8mo ago
      Indian Govt. has been hijacked by the Anglo-American elites though by bribing all politicians/bureaucrats/capitalists. This is just a wolf in a sheep's clothing.
  - IncreasePosts 8mo ago
    Digital IDs are sick and depraved?
    - deleted 8mo ago
      [deleted]
- tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
  The downvotes for simply mentioning the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation are quite amazing.
cadamsdotcom 8mo ago
(2024)
pinkmuffinere 8mo ago
The comments here seem to have a negative sentiment towards this project, and I want to understand that better. I would prefer not to carry ID at all times, but it seems to me that this is a fact of modern life -- in the US at least, ID is indeed required for banking, to get a drivers license, to board planes, etc. Our ID system is ridiculous. A weird combination of SSN's, Drivers license, and Passport are forced into this role, even though they weren't designed for that, and don't do a great job. If Ethiopia builds a _good_ system, I feel that is better than whatever _bad_ system would naturally arise without planning. Am I totally off base here? What am I missing?
- csb6 8mo ago
  Having a single digital ID that is used for everything makes sense from a technical perspective (less duplication, ambiguity, and need to maintain multiple IDs) but from a privacy perspective it is bad. Effectively everything you do online would be tied to a single comprehensive representation of your identity even if the task that uses the ID doesn't require more than knowing "this is a unique person using this service". If user data is leaked then it is easier to tie every digital service being used by a person together since there is a single ID number used everywhere. IMO fewer things should require ID (e.g. domestic flights) because it opens up the risk of personal data being leaked or misused for often not much benefit.
  - nine_k 8mo ago
    But this particular ship has left the barn: everywhere where a real ID is needed, you have to dive your full legal name, and the document's dates and other details, which is easy to correlate with a low chance of error.
    - recursivecaveat 8mo ago
      Yeah, I really do not think that governments are seriously stymied by the fact that the Amish don't have SSNs or that you only enter your name, DoB, phone, email, address, and state driver's license number to get a bank account instead of a federal ID number. If we really want privacy we need to firmly enshrine this stuff into law instead of slapping random data and hoping that makes privacy invasion too clumsy.
chazburger 8mo ago
[flagged]
sparky_z 8mo ago
I remember many years ago (maybe around 2014?) reading about a smallish European country that implemented this sort of thing really well. There was nothing but glowing praise for it at the time. I want to say maybe it was Latvia? Does anyone remember what I'm talking about? I'm wondering if there been any long-term takeaways for how well it ended up working.
- steelbrain 8mo ago
  Maybe Estonia? I was an e-resident and was really impressed by the digitization of the government systems (and non-government ones too! They inter-op) in Estonia.
- scirob 8mo ago
  its not only good https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/estonia-sues-gemalto-for-152-mln-euros-over-id-card-flaws-idUSL8N1WD5JZ/ https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/estonia-sues-gema...
- mhitza 8mo ago
  If you mean Estonia. They had their 10 year anniversary of the e-Residency program in 2024 https://xcancel.com/e_Residents/status/1863538927098908813 https://xcancel.com/e_Residents/status/1863538927098908813 around 33000 registered companies but no open financial numbers. My business is incorporated in Estonia. Though I'm on the lookout at how "EU incorporated" will be, if that becomes a thing. "estonian e- residents generated a record €125 million of state revenue in 2025" https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/blog/posts/e-residents-generated-record-state-revenue-2025/ https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/blog/posts/e-residents-generat...
- dzhiurgis 8mo ago
  Speaking for Lithuania - we have something like 6 or 7 digital ID forms and until like last year or so - they all sucked, i.e.: * Using your bank to login - well if you left country you generally close your bank. * SIM card auth (similar to SMS, you get a code on your phone) - most popular, except same as above + doesn't work with eSIM. * Chip card - requires reader, unclear software and certificates on card expire after 2 years which makes it useless if you moved abroad. * Smart Id - scans your passport, does face scan and stays on your phone - pretty convenient, but turns out there are multiple levels of auth and this particular one isn't that useful... * Contactless - the holy grail that's only been implemented recently - scan your id card/ passport using phone. I've only used it once, did require some esoteric software, but seems like a step in the right direction. Bonus: e-gov forms actually predate mobile era. They have been built so long that you can forget trying to fill them on your phone. And if you do get to fill them, you'll most likely receive email that you need to come into the office for 'verification' which pretty much defeats entire system.
SilverElfin 8mo ago
I do not want a digital ID normalized. It’ll lead to a world where everywhere you go, you need to identify yourself. And those that don’t will be marginalized and locked out of everyday basic services. There is an entire industry pushing this, and I’ve been seeing a phrase “id/acc”. Like to accelerate identification. It’s the opposite of privacy and anonymization. It’s evil.
- alephnerd 8mo ago
  It's already normalized in much of the world and has been for decades since Malaysia began the MyKad program in 2001 [0]. For developing countries, digital and biometric IDs make it easier to disburse public services as well as gain a more realistic understanding of demographics. Digital activism and (somewhat valid) paranoia around privacy is a luxury belief when vast swathes of the population in LDCs are unbanked and relegated to the informal economy. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_identity_card https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_identity_card
  - tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
    They also make it easier for nation states to cut off access to public and private services when they don't like what a citizen is doing. It's wasn't normalized by choice - it was forced upon people. I'm sure NGOs and governments love it but that certainly doesn't mean that citizens do, which governments are supposed to serve. The paranoia is very valid. [1] [1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vietnam-bank-account-purge-boosts-095332550.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vietnam-bank-account-purge-bo...
    - alephnerd 8mo ago
      My in-laws in rural Gia Lai love having a biometric ID as does my extended family in rural Northwest India. Before there was significant friction when setting up physical IDs and bank and government services simply couldn't scale down to the village level, which would make routine paperwork a multi-day affair. Being able to do almost all government-related and banking paperwork over the Internet has legimately made it easier for my extended family in both VN and India to become banked, access public welfare without dealing with corrupt local apparatchiks, and accessing capital to think about making MSMEs. As I mentioned above, this kind of performative activism is a luxury belief.
gib444 8mo ago
What problem is it aiming to solve and how will they measure success...?
dr_dshiv 8mo ago
DigID in the Netherlands is amazing— it works super well and is central to many services. Then it was bought by an American company—oops.
- tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
  Why is having a digital ID that captures your biometric information, that is central to accessing many services so amazing? Please elaborate. I guess if it was allowed to be purchased by a foreign actor, it's not so amazing after all...
  - dr_dshiv 8mo ago
    I agree, it should not be purchaseable. But, it beats going to physical places to show physical ids for the same service.
    - tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
      I understand the convenience factor, but the privacy / potential ethical concerns with digital IDs connected to private sector services like banking transactions, internet access, sim card availability, etc... outweigh the convenience factor in my mind. Too easy for governments to do bad things.
tsoukase 8mo ago
It's a loan from the developed world to an African country for an IT project. Are we sure no corruption will happen? Because such happens all the time even in developed countries.
- sph 8mo ago
  The loan is the corruption.

53 points by tinfoilhatter 8mo ago

$2.54 per person. They earn something like $300 per month.

Ethiopia is in the process of implementing a nationwide digital ID program called Fayda ID. Fayda ID is an implementation of the open source platform MOSIP [1]. The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is a strategic partner and funder of the MOSIP technology platform. [2] The digital ID is required by citizens for access to banking, obtaining a drivers license, obtaining SIM cards, and other essential services citizens rely on. [3] The government of Ethiopia is now receiving funding from NGOs such as the World Bank to implement their national digital ID program. [4] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayda_ID https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayda_ID [2] https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/mosip-digital-id-systems https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/mosip-digital... [3] https://id.et/benefits https://id.et/benefits [4] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/12/13/world-bank-supports-afe-ethiopias-digital-id-project-to-increase-access-to-services-and-economic-opportunities https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/12/13/w...

seanw444 8mo ago
> The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is a strategic partner and funder of the MOSIP technology platform. Because of course it is.
- alephnerd 8mo ago
  MOSIP is Indian [0][1][2]. India is exporting multiple different stacks for Digital Public Infrastructure. This project in Ethiopia is itself being pushed by the Indian government [3][4] and is part of India's larger "Global South" strategy [5]. I guess the question you should be asking is why the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has becoming intertwined with Indian geopolitical power projection. [0] - https://www.mosip.io/mosip_project https://www.mosip.io/mosip_project [1] - https://www.mosip.io/governance https://www.mosip.io/governance [2] - https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2 https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2 [3] - https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-with-ethiopia-modi-pitches-for-shared-global-south-vision/ https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-... [4] - https://pulseofafrica.info/innovation/119 https://pulseofafrica.info/innovation/119 [5] - https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handbook.pdf https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handb...
mdni007 8mo ago
Is it impossible for white billionaires to stop using Africa as a playground for their sick and depraved experiments?
- alephnerd 8mo ago
  It's an Indian government project though - the entire MOSIP project was developed in an Indian public university [0] and is directly tied with India's "global south" strategy [1]. Plus the majority of it's governance board is associated with the Indian government or Tata Group. Digital Public Infrastructure in the "Global South" is India's attempt at building a digital version of OBOR [2]. [0] - https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2 https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2 [1] - https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-with-ethiopia-modi-pitches-for-shared-global-south-vision/ https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-... [2] - https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handbook.pdf https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handb...
  - senkora 8mo ago
    Since I had to look it up, OBOR = One Belt One Road = Belt and Road Initiative, which is China's project for building infrastructure in developing countries to promote tighter economic integration with China. It's a more literal translation of the Chinese name "一带一路".
  - throquejejn 8mo ago
    Indian Govt. has been hijacked by the Anglo-American elites though by bribing all politicians/bureaucrats/capitalists. This is just a wolf in a sheep's clothing.
- IncreasePosts 8mo ago
  Digital IDs are sick and depraved?
  - deleted 8mo ago
    [deleted]
tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
The downvotes for simply mentioning the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation are quite amazing.

cadamsdotcom 8mo ago

(2024)

pinkmuffinere 8mo ago

The comments here seem to have a negative sentiment towards this project, and I want to understand that better. I would prefer not to carry ID at all times, but it seems to me that this is a fact of modern life -- in the US at least, ID is indeed required for banking, to get a drivers license, to board planes, etc. Our ID system is ridiculous. A weird combination of SSN's, Drivers license, and Passport are forced into this role, even though they weren't designed for that, and don't do a great job. If Ethiopia builds a _good_ system, I feel that is better than whatever _bad_ system would naturally arise without planning. Am I totally off base here? What am I missing?

csb6 8mo ago
Having a single digital ID that is used for everything makes sense from a technical perspective (less duplication, ambiguity, and need to maintain multiple IDs) but from a privacy perspective it is bad. Effectively everything you do online would be tied to a single comprehensive representation of your identity even if the task that uses the ID doesn't require more than knowing "this is a unique person using this service". If user data is leaked then it is easier to tie every digital service being used by a person together since there is a single ID number used everywhere. IMO fewer things should require ID (e.g. domestic flights) because it opens up the risk of personal data being leaked or misused for often not much benefit.
- nine_k 8mo ago
  But this particular ship has left the barn: everywhere where a real ID is needed, you have to dive your full legal name, and the document's dates and other details, which is easy to correlate with a low chance of error.
  - recursivecaveat 8mo ago
    Yeah, I really do not think that governments are seriously stymied by the fact that the Amish don't have SSNs or that you only enter your name, DoB, phone, email, address, and state driver's license number to get a bank account instead of a federal ID number. If we really want privacy we need to firmly enshrine this stuff into law instead of slapping random data and hoping that makes privacy invasion too clumsy.

chazburger 8mo ago

[flagged]

sparky_z 8mo ago

I remember many years ago (maybe around 2014?) reading about a smallish European country that implemented this sort of thing really well. There was nothing but glowing praise for it at the time. I want to say maybe it was Latvia? Does anyone remember what I'm talking about? I'm wondering if there been any long-term takeaways for how well it ended up working.

steelbrain 8mo ago
Maybe Estonia? I was an e-resident and was really impressed by the digitization of the government systems (and non-government ones too! They inter-op) in Estonia.
scirob 8mo ago
its not only good https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/estonia-sues-gemalto-for-152-mln-euros-over-id-card-flaws-idUSL8N1WD5JZ/ https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/estonia-sues-gema...
mhitza 8mo ago
If you mean Estonia. They had their 10 year anniversary of the e-Residency program in 2024 https://xcancel.com/e_Residents/status/1863538927098908813 https://xcancel.com/e_Residents/status/1863538927098908813 around 33000 registered companies but no open financial numbers. My business is incorporated in Estonia. Though I'm on the lookout at how "EU incorporated" will be, if that becomes a thing. "estonian e- residents generated a record €125 million of state revenue in 2025" https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/blog/posts/e-residents-generated-record-state-revenue-2025/ https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/blog/posts/e-residents-generat...
dzhiurgis 8mo ago
Speaking for Lithuania - we have something like 6 or 7 digital ID forms and until like last year or so - they all sucked, i.e.: * Using your bank to login - well if you left country you generally close your bank. * SIM card auth (similar to SMS, you get a code on your phone) - most popular, except same as above + doesn't work with eSIM. * Chip card - requires reader, unclear software and certificates on card expire after 2 years which makes it useless if you moved abroad. * Smart Id - scans your passport, does face scan and stays on your phone - pretty convenient, but turns out there are multiple levels of auth and this particular one isn't that useful... * Contactless - the holy grail that's only been implemented recently - scan your id card/ passport using phone. I've only used it once, did require some esoteric software, but seems like a step in the right direction. Bonus: e-gov forms actually predate mobile era. They have been built so long that you can forget trying to fill them on your phone. And if you do get to fill them, you'll most likely receive email that you need to come into the office for 'verification' which pretty much defeats entire system.

SilverElfin 8mo ago

I do not want a digital ID normalized. It’ll lead to a world where everywhere you go, you need to identify yourself. And those that don’t will be marginalized and locked out of everyday basic services. There is an entire industry pushing this, and I’ve been seeing a phrase “id/acc”. Like to accelerate identification. It’s the opposite of privacy and anonymization. It’s evil.

alephnerd 8mo ago
It's already normalized in much of the world and has been for decades since Malaysia began the MyKad program in 2001 [0]. For developing countries, digital and biometric IDs make it easier to disburse public services as well as gain a more realistic understanding of demographics. Digital activism and (somewhat valid) paranoia around privacy is a luxury belief when vast swathes of the population in LDCs are unbanked and relegated to the informal economy. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_identity_card https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_identity_card
- tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
  They also make it easier for nation states to cut off access to public and private services when they don't like what a citizen is doing. It's wasn't normalized by choice - it was forced upon people. I'm sure NGOs and governments love it but that certainly doesn't mean that citizens do, which governments are supposed to serve. The paranoia is very valid. [1] [1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vietnam-bank-account-purge-boosts-095332550.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vietnam-bank-account-purge-bo...
  - alephnerd 8mo ago
    My in-laws in rural Gia Lai love having a biometric ID as does my extended family in rural Northwest India. Before there was significant friction when setting up physical IDs and bank and government services simply couldn't scale down to the village level, which would make routine paperwork a multi-day affair. Being able to do almost all government-related and banking paperwork over the Internet has legimately made it easier for my extended family in both VN and India to become banked, access public welfare without dealing with corrupt local apparatchiks, and accessing capital to think about making MSMEs. As I mentioned above, this kind of performative activism is a luxury belief.

gib444 8mo ago

What problem is it aiming to solve and how will they measure success...?

dr_dshiv 8mo ago

DigID in the Netherlands is amazing— it works super well and is central to many services. Then it was bought by an American company—oops.

tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
Why is having a digital ID that captures your biometric information, that is central to accessing many services so amazing? Please elaborate. I guess if it was allowed to be purchased by a foreign actor, it's not so amazing after all...
- dr_dshiv 8mo ago
  I agree, it should not be purchaseable. But, it beats going to physical places to show physical ids for the same service.
  - tinfoilhatter 8mo ago
    I understand the convenience factor, but the privacy / potential ethical concerns with digital IDs connected to private sector services like banking transactions, internet access, sim card availability, etc... outweigh the convenience factor in my mind. Too easy for governments to do bad things.

tsoukase 8mo ago

It's a loan from the developed world to an African country for an IT project. Are we sure no corruption will happen? Because such happens all the time even in developed countries.

sph 8mo ago
The loan is the corruption.