‘Enforce identity verification to underpin digitally-enabled governance’
By Patrick Paintsil
Government must build on the gains its robust digital identity infrastructure by enforcing verified identity as the gatekeeper and new standard of national operations to enhance fairness, efficiency and safety in the delivery of critical services across the various sectors of the economy, according to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Margins ID Group, Mr. Kwesi Baiden.
Speaking at the 10th anniversary edition of the Mobex Africa Tech Innovation Conference and Awards, held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, he indicated that the success of the nation is hinged on government’s ability to authenticate its population securely and instantly—leveraging its existing proven infrastructure and systems.
“Identity is how we secure value; it is how we protect public resources, guarantee fairness and strengthen Ghana’s place in the future global economy,” he told a gathering of tech stakeholders, policymakers and the business community.
He added: “The system is ready and policy commitment must match the infrastructure. The next chapter is enforcement for Ghana to protect its citizens in a world of digital risk and lead the continent in identity enabled governance.”
In a presentation titled “Building the identity backbone of Africa’s digital economy”, Mr. Baiden stressed that Ghana was done with the ‘heavy lifting’ stage, having established a functioning backbone for a modern digital state.
The work ahead, he noted, will be to institutionalize the adoption and use of the tried and tested innovations as the basic standard of national operations and not as an occasional requirement.
Mr. Baiden further indicated: “This is also how we prepare for the next economic shift. The fourth industrial revolution is about authenticated participation in digital services; the fifth will be shaped by artificial intelligence and intelligent automation where trust is not a debate but a technical requirement. Without secure identity no country will operate confidently in that environment.”
This year’s Mobex Africa Tech Innovation Conference and Awards, organized by Mobex Africa, in partnership with Margins ID Group, convened entrepreneurs in the tech and innovation ecosystem, investors and policymakers to discuss pertinent issues including digital payments, identity systems and financial inclusion.
The four-day event is being held on the theme “Resetting Africa’s digital identity and sovereignty” will be climaxed with an innovation awards to celebrate twenty-two (22) pioneers shaping the continent’s digital destiny—those who design for impact, build for inclusion and design for ownership.
