Bankers' Association Takes Billion Birr Stride in Digital ID Registration

Apr 30 , 2024

The Ethiopian Bankers’ Association (EBA) is advancing a national digital ID initiative, awarding a contract to Lamino Engineering S.C., which teamed up with South Africa's BioRugged to supply vital registration kits. Established six years ago, Lamino Engineering, known for its work with Huawei on the CBE Birr project, will leverage its expertise in IT infrastructures and digital banking solutions. "We're confident in our capacity to fulfil the project’s goals," said CEO Kidus Gebreselassie. A consortium of 21 banks, under the Association's umbrella, is coordinating closely with the National ID Project Office to accelerate the digital registration process over the next two years. These banks are funding the procurement of the registration kits —each priced at up to 3,500 dollars and totalling about 21 million dollars — but also in facilitating the registration process. The federal government is financing 95pc of the project's cost projected close to one billion Birr, stating its commitment to integrating advanced digital identification systems into the banking infrastructure. The agreement between Lamino and the Association was signed last week at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) headquarters, located on Ras Desta Damtew Street.