The comments here seem to have a negative sentiment towards this project, and I want to understand that better.
I would prefer not to carry ID at all times, but it seems to me that this is a fact of modern life -- in the US at least, ID is indeed required for banking, to get a drivers license, to board planes, etc. Our ID system is ridiculous. A weird combination of SSN's, Drivers license, and Passport are forced into this role, even though they weren't designed for that, and don't do a great job. If Ethiopia builds a _good_ system, I feel that is better than whatever _bad_ system would naturally arise without planning. Am I totally off base here? What am I missing?
Having a single digital ID that is used for everything makes sense from a technical perspective (less duplication, ambiguity, and need to maintain multiple IDs) but from a privacy perspective it is bad. Effectively everything you do online would be tied to a single comprehensive representation of your identity even if the task that uses the ID doesn't require more than knowing "this is a unique person using this service". If user data is leaked then it is easier to tie every digital service being used by a person together since there is a single ID number used everywhere.
IMO fewer things should require ID (e.g. domestic flights) because it opens up the risk of personal data being leaked or misused for often not much benefit.
But this particular ship has left the barn: everywhere where a real ID is needed, you have to dive your full legal name, and the document's dates and other details, which is easy to correlate with a low chance of error.
about the american system- i’ll shoot. i’m a trans american, and i got my passport renewed during the 2nd trump administration. i got one with a name that is… not my legal name or what people call me in my daily life. i also live in a state in the northeast that respects my rights, so i have a drivers license that matches my legal name. this is not the case in all states [1]. a social security number, drivers license and passport all serve different functions (banking, driving, foreign travel), and centralizing all of them increases the blast radius of any abuses. if the second trump administration was in charge of a centralized digital id, they could much worse things to me.
I remember many years ago (maybe around 2014?) reading about a smallish European country that implemented this sort of thing really well. There was nothing but glowing praise for it at the time. I want to say maybe it was Latvia?
Does anyone remember what I'm talking about? I'm wondering if there been any long-term takeaways for how well it ended up working.
Maybe Estonia? I was an e-resident and was really impressed by the digitization of the government systems (and non-government ones too! They inter-op) in Estonia.
Ethiopia is in the process of implementing a nationwide digital ID program called Fayda ID. Fayda ID is an implementation of the open source platform MOSIP [1].
The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is a strategic partner and funder of the MOSIP technology platform. [2]
The digital ID is required by citizens for access to banking, obtaining a drivers license, obtaining SIM cards, and other essential services citizens rely on. [3]
The government of Ethiopia is now receiving funding from NGOs such as the World Bank to implement their national digital ID program. [4]
MOSIP is Indian [0][1][2]. India is exporting multiple different stacks for Digital Public Infrastructure.
This project in Ethiopia is itself being pushed by the Indian government [3][4] and is part of India's larger "Global South" strategy [5].
I guess the question you should be asking is why the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has becoming intertwined with Indian geopolitical power projection.
It's an Indian government project though - the entire MOSIP project was developed in an Indian public university [0] and is directly tied with India's "global south" strategy [1]. Plus the majority of it's governance board is associated with the Indian government or Tata Group.
Digital Public Infrastructure in the "Global South" is India's attempt at building a digital version of OBOR [2].
Since I had to look it up, OBOR = One Belt One Road = Belt and Road Initiative, which is China's project for building infrastructure in developing countries to promote tighter economic integration with China.
It's a more literal translation of the Chinese name "一带一路".
$2.54 per person. They earn something like $300 per month.
The comments here seem to have a negative sentiment towards this project, and I want to understand that better.
I would prefer not to carry ID at all times, but it seems to me that this is a fact of modern life -- in the US at least, ID is indeed required for banking, to get a drivers license, to board planes, etc. Our ID system is ridiculous. A weird combination of SSN's, Drivers license, and Passport are forced into this role, even though they weren't designed for that, and don't do a great job. If Ethiopia builds a _good_ system, I feel that is better than whatever _bad_ system would naturally arise without planning. Am I totally off base here? What am I missing?
Having a single digital ID that is used for everything makes sense from a technical perspective (less duplication, ambiguity, and need to maintain multiple IDs) but from a privacy perspective it is bad. Effectively everything you do online would be tied to a single comprehensive representation of your identity even if the task that uses the ID doesn't require more than knowing "this is a unique person using this service". If user data is leaked then it is easier to tie every digital service being used by a person together since there is a single ID number used everywhere.
IMO fewer things should require ID (e.g. domestic flights) because it opens up the risk of personal data being leaked or misused for often not much benefit.
But this particular ship has left the barn: everywhere where a real ID is needed, you have to dive your full legal name, and the document's dates and other details, which is easy to correlate with a low chance of error.
about the american system- i’ll shoot. i’m a trans american, and i got my passport renewed during the 2nd trump administration. i got one with a name that is… not my legal name or what people call me in my daily life. i also live in a state in the northeast that respects my rights, so i have a drivers license that matches my legal name. this is not the case in all states [1]. a social security number, drivers license and passport all serve different functions (banking, driving, foreign travel), and centralizing all of them increases the blast radius of any abuses. if the second trump administration was in charge of a centralized digital id, they could much worse things to me.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/kansas-invalidates-...
I remember many years ago (maybe around 2014?) reading about a smallish European country that implemented this sort of thing really well. There was nothing but glowing praise for it at the time. I want to say maybe it was Latvia?
Does anyone remember what I'm talking about? I'm wondering if there been any long-term takeaways for how well it ended up working.
If you mean Estonia. They had their 10 year anniversary of the e-Residency program in 2024 https://xcancel.com/e_Residents/status/1863538927098908813 around 33000 registered companies but no open financial numbers.
My business is incorporated in Estonia. Though I'm on the lookout at how "EU incorporated" will be, if that becomes a thing.
"estonian e- residents generated a record €125 million of state revenue in 2025" https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/blog/posts/e-residents-generat...
Maybe Estonia? I was an e-resident and was really impressed by the digitization of the government systems (and non-government ones too! They inter-op) in Estonia.
its not only good https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/estonia-sues-gema...
Please keep it away from voting please
Ethiopia is in the process of implementing a nationwide digital ID program called Fayda ID. Fayda ID is an implementation of the open source platform MOSIP [1].
The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is a strategic partner and funder of the MOSIP technology platform. [2]
The digital ID is required by citizens for access to banking, obtaining a drivers license, obtaining SIM cards, and other essential services citizens rely on. [3]
The government of Ethiopia is now receiving funding from NGOs such as the World Bank to implement their national digital ID program. [4]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayda_ID
[2] https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/mosip-digital...
[3] https://id.et/benefits
[4] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/12/13/w...
> The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is a strategic partner and funder of the MOSIP technology platform.
Because of course it is.
MOSIP is Indian [0][1][2]. India is exporting multiple different stacks for Digital Public Infrastructure.
This project in Ethiopia is itself being pushed by the Indian government [3][4] and is part of India's larger "Global South" strategy [5].
I guess the question you should be asking is why the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has becoming intertwined with Indian geopolitical power projection.
[0] - https://www.mosip.io/mosip_project
[1] - https://www.mosip.io/governance
[2] - https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2
[3] - https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-...
[4] - https://pulseofafrica.info/innovation/119
[5] - https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handb...
Is it impossible for white billionaires to stop using Africa as a playground for their sick and depraved experiments?
It's an Indian government project though - the entire MOSIP project was developed in an Indian public university [0] and is directly tied with India's "global south" strategy [1]. Plus the majority of it's governance board is associated with the Indian government or Tata Group.
Digital Public Infrastructure in the "Global South" is India's attempt at building a digital version of OBOR [2].
[0] - https://www.iiitb.ac.in/projects/mosip-2
[1] - https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-elevates-ties-...
[2] - https://ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Publication/DPI_Handb...
Since I had to look it up, OBOR = One Belt One Road = Belt and Road Initiative, which is China's project for building infrastructure in developing countries to promote tighter economic integration with China.
It's a more literal translation of the Chinese name "一带一路".
(2024)