The World Bank’s Nigeria Country Director, Shubham Chaudhuri, has revealed a collaborative effort with the National Identity Management Commission to implement digital national IDs for all Nigerians. The aim is to provide over 148 million working-age individuals with digital IDs by mid-2024, a significant stride towards inclusivity.
Chaudhuri made this announcement during a dinner in Abuja, reaffirming the World Bank’s commitment to reducing poverty, enhancing lives, and generating job prospects for Nigeria’s youth. He underscored the potential of digital technologies for transformation and outlined two key partnership areas.
Chaudhuri stated, “Our focus is on eliminating poverty, improving lives, and creating jobs for Nigerian youth. A crucial part of this is a digital national ID. Our partnership with NIMC aims to ensure the registration rollout, aiming for at least 148 million digital IDs by mid-next year.”
The second area involves bolstering broadband infrastructure to bridge the digital divide. Chaudhuri highlighted the support for favorable policies and regulations to attract private investments in this sector.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, shared that the government secured access to around half a billion dollars for a local funding program. This initiative seeks to boost innovation within Nigeria’s digital sector, promoting homegrown businesses.
Tijani emphasized, “We want to ensure true Nigerian businesses benefit from this funding. The goal is to domicile the funding locally, promoting growth in local enterprises and attracting further investments.”
He assured that the initial funding is just a starting point and more investors will join. The government aims to leverage this fund to draw additional investments and expand resources for local entrepreneurs, fostering economic progress.
In summary, the World Bank’s collaboration with Nigeria on digital IDs and the government’s local funding initiative are pivotal steps towards harnessing technology for social and economic advancement.