Sierra Leone will launch an identification system on the blockchain by the end of the year

The Sierra Leone government plans to fully implement the national blockchain-based identification system by the end of 2019.

Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio said the new infrastructure will allow financial institutions to verify their identity and create customer credit histories.

The new project, called the National Digital Identification Platform (NDIP), is based on a collaboration between the United Nations and the non-profit company Kiva, based in San Francisco, which has become Sierra Leone’s key technology partner since September 2018.

According to the report, NDIP will be deployed in two main phases. The first is associated with the digitization of identification data, and the second, which must be completed by the end of the year, provides for the creation of nationally recognized identification numbers that are not duplicate and cannot be reused.

The President said that access to credit and financial services through the blockchain will significantly improve the lives of citizens. He said the new national identity card system “will lead to citizens having simplified access to credit for investing in entrepreneurial activity.”

Bio emphasized the high security standards of the future platform, noting that the data on each citizen will be stored in the National Civil Registration Office and will be protected in strict confidentiality in accordance with international guidelines.

In August, the American nonprofit organization Kiva, together with the authorities of Sierra Leone, launched
blockchain platform for storing credit history. In addition, back in September last year, it was reported that the UN would help Sierra Leone create a blockchain identification system.