Around 1 billion people in the world are unregistered, with no means or documents to identify them. According to the World Bank, half of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Across the continent, governments are struggling to provide adequate identification schemes for their citizens. The results are a weakened ability to deliver services and social grants, especially to vulnerable peoples such as the disabled, and the elderly. Rwanda wants to fix that. New smart IDs that will carry biometric components like fingerprints and iris scans are set to be rolled out in a few years. But does the country have the physical and legal infrastructure to make the rollout a success?

Hilda Barasa is a Senior Policy Advisor with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Her research covers digitalisation processes in Africa and around the world. Her recent paper, co-authored with two of her colleagues, explores how digital IDs can help four African countries, including Rwanda, better reach marginalized groups, including women in rural areas and the elderly.

Hudson Kuteesa is a seasoned journalist with The New Times, covering everything from technology to health. He has reported prolifically on the new smart IDs that Rwanda plans to roll out. His report detailing how Rwanda's proposed smart IDs will be a game changer is here.

Katelyn Cioffi is a Senior Research Scholar at NYU's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice researching how digital government initiatives, including biometric ID systems, affect human rights. Katelyn has worked extensively on social justice issues at various organisations including Amnesty International. Katelyn was a 2018 Fulbright Fellow at the Amsterdam Center for International Law, University of Amsterdam.

Rwanda initiates legislative digital ID amendment to include stateless persons, children: https://www.biometricupdate.com/202304/rwanda-initiates-legislative-digital-id-amendment-to-include-stateless-persons-children

Digital ID Can Help to Better Serve Marginalised Groups in Society: https://www.institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/digital-id-can-help-to-better-serve-marginalised-groups-in-society.

African Countries are struggling to build robust identity systems: https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/12/05/african-countries-are-struggling-to-build-robust-identity-systems

Digital Identity in Rwanda, Case Study: https://researchictafrica.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Rwanda_31.10.21.pdf