Addis Abeba – Ethio-Telecom has become the latest institution to join efforts to register millions of Ethiopians to receive digital identification across the country.
Accordingly, Frehiwot Tamiru, CEO of Ethio Telecom, and Yodahe Zemichael, Executive Director of National ID Ethiopia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday that will enable the former to start registration of Ethiopians in 29 registration centers in using its service centers in different cities including the capital Addis Abeba.
Ethio Telecom plans to register up to one million Ethiopians per month, with an overall target of registering 32 million, which constitutes 36% of the national plan.
The National ID program also received another boost as the Ethiopian Bankers Association signed a significant agreement with Lamino Engineering PLC to make the Digital ID available for 40 million people.
The agreement warrants Lamino Engineering to supply 6000 Digital ID registration equipment worth 1 billion birr to the association, enabling more than 11 thousand bank branches across the country offer registration service.
In addition to facilitating improved digital financial services for 40 million people who have already been included in the financial sector, the agreement will ease access to financial services for 30% of the country’s population who were constrained by lack of identification documents, as reported by the EPA.
The ‘Digital ID for Inclusion and Services Project’ seeks to register at least 90 million Ethiopians to receive access to “an inclusive and secure ID that improves their access to services and economic opportunities’ by 2026; the program also includes refugees and migrants living in Ethiopia.
In December 2023, the program received $350 million in financing from the World Bank. Since its launching, 4,680,152 Ethiopians have been registered to receive the Fayda Digital ID Card, according to the active online tally on the National ID Ethiopia portal. AS
