Interoperable Digital ID Gains Momentum in Africa at IGF 2025

The 2025 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) spotlighted a significant shift in Africa’s digital identity landscape: a coordinated push for interoperable, inclusive digital ID systems across the continent. Policymakers, civil society groups, and private sector leaders converged to discuss how African nations can harmonize identity frameworks to drive regional mobility, secure digital transactions, and improve public service delivery.

At Digital Partners, we view this momentum as an opportunity to build identity ecosystems powered by Mobile ID—scalable, privacy-first, and rooted in user empowerment.

Multiple African nations have rolled out or are piloting national digital ID systems, but without interoperability, these remain fragmented—limiting their regional impact. But without interoperability, these systems remain siloed—creating inefficiencies for cross-border trade, regional travel, and service access.

As IGF discussions revealed, a continent-wide framework for digital ID would:

• Enable seamless cross-border verification for migrants, traders, and students
• Support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with trusted credentials
• Reduce fraud and duplication across e-governance platforms

Mobile ID can serve as the foundational layer—enabling encrypted, portable identities directly accessible on user devices.

Despite enthusiasm, delegates acknowledged key challenges slowing progress:

• Infrastructure disparity across regions
• Legal and regulatory fragmentation
• Low digital literacy in rural areas
• Concerns over surveillance and data misuse

Privacy advocates stressed the need for ethical design and independent oversight. There were also calls for open standards, public transparency, and respect for sovereignty over identity systems.

This is where Mobile ID can stand out. By decentralizing identity storage and incorporating on-device processing, Mobile ID reduces reliance on vulnerable central databases while enhancing user privacy and system resilience.

A key outcome from the IGF was consensus that future digital ID systems must be inclusive and rights-based. That means:

• Giving users control over how their data is used and shared
• Avoiding exclusion due to lack of documents, connectivity, or biometrics
• Embedding transparency, consent, and auditability by design

Mobile ID meets these needs by placing secure digital identity directly in users’ hands. With features like biometric authentication and granular consent flows, it ensures accessibility.

Digital Partners is uniquely positioned to support Africa’s interoperable identity ambitions through:

• API-driven Mobile ID systems for flexible integration
• Biometric liveness detection to combat fraud and synthetic identities
• Encrypted credential storage compliant with regional data laws

By helping governments and financial institutions deploy secure, user-centric identity solutions, we aim to make interoperability not just a policy goal—but a lived reality for millions.

As Africa charts its path toward unified digital identity, the IGF made one thing clear: trust, inclusion, and interoperability must guide the way.

With Mobile ID as the trust anchor, Digital Partners is ready to support the continent’s next phase of digital empowerment—connecting people, services, and economies through secure, ethical identity.