Biometric Registration Kits for Ethiopia’s National ID (NID) Program

1. Project Background The Government of Ethiopia is implementing a renewed National Identity (NID) Program focused on rolling-out a digital identification system that is aligned with international best practices, including the Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development . Led by the National ID Program Office (NIDP), NID is a five-year program (2021 – 2026) set to introduce a new nation-wide foundational digital ID that will gradually replace the Kebele ID — a locally administered paper-based card — to offer an inclusive, residence-based and digital identification system, and ultimately support Ethiopia’s digital transformation agenda. The NID initiative will be implemented in various phases, including an initial pilot period, to enable lessons learned, local knowledge enhanced and technical iterations prior to a scale-up and nation-wide roll-out throughout the country. The pilot will test an Ethiopian integration of the Modular Open-Source Identification Platform (MOSIP). NID is a multi-stakeholder initiative encompassing a whole-of-government Steering Committee, international ID experts and consultants, various donors from the international development community, and different teams within the NIDP.