We are happy to announce that MOSIP has entered a partnership with the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA), Sierra Leone, to build and launch a pilot programme for a national digital ID system.
IIITB will provide technical support to NCRA for the design, development, and maintenance of a foundational identity system using MOSIP modules. The output of this pilot programme will inform the blueprint for potential modernisation of the national ID system.
The pilot system will build on existing registrations and test the incorporation of a MOSIP solution on a suitable infrastructure. IIITB and MOSIP will assist them in the creation of a safe, inclusive, empowering ID system pilot that functions in accordance with Sierra Leone’s national laws and globally-accepted practices, while ensuring country ownership of the data and underlying technology.
Speaking on behalf of the NCRA, the Director General – Mr. Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi said:
“NCRA is the Identity Data Hub and the authoritative source of data on the population of Sierra Leone. In order to continue providing and maintaining credible identity data for good governance and development intervention in Sierra Leone, the NCRA always looks forward to exploring technologies and tools, like the MOSIP Open Source Platform for Foundational ID System. We look forward to what MOSIP has to offer to the NCRA and Sierra Leone as a country in this pilot.”
The Director General added that:
“As an institution mandated by law to carry out CRVS and ID Management activities in Sierra Leone covering both citizens and non-citizen residents, the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) aims to have a state-of-the-art ICT and Identity Management Infrastructure in place in order to provide seamless civil registration, production and dissemination of vital statistics and identity management services to and on the population of the country. As such, working with the MOSIP Team to pilot the MOSIP DPG based Digital Identity Platform is timely. We look forward to a successful pilot program as it will help us at NCRA – Sierra Leone to understand the modules, features, and functionalities of the Open Source MOSIP ID Platform. Thereafter, the NCRA will then determine modules of interest for consideration and adoption that should complement the already existing partnership the NCRA has with another vendor for some identity services in Sierra Leone.”
Prof. S. Rajagopalan from MOSIP, IIIT Bangalore, said:
“We at MOSIP look forward to witnessing the power of robust technology in Sierra Leone. The team here is set to provide support to the nation in this pilot and are confident that the learnings through the process will be invaluable in identifying their needs. This is the start of what we are hopeful will be a fruitful journey for all stakeholders towards the establishment of a meaningful and effective digital ID system in Sierra Leone.”
MOSIP, IIITB, and the team in Sierra Leone are confident that this pilot programme will lay the groundwork for a robust ecosystem of digital governance, harnessing the power of foundational ID for all in Sierra Leone.
MOSIP (Modular Open-Source Identification Platform) was incubated at IIIT Bangalore as a global digital public good. The platform’s modular architecture, easy configuration, and customisation abilities, enable countries the flexibility to build their foundational digital ID systems in a cost-effective manner.
MOSIP was built on a strong bedrock of principles for security and privacy. The use of open standards and open-source code ensures that MOSIP is agnostic to specific applications, programming languages, and platforms, and actively works towards avoiding vendor lock-in.
Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates’ Foundation, Tata Trust, Omidyar Networks, NORAD, and Pratiksha Trust, the platform is being adopted by the Philippines, Morocco, and Togo, and piloted in Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, and Sierra Leone.
IIIT Bangalore is a premier educational institute, located in the heart of Electronic City, Bangalore, India. Focused on Post-Graduate IT education and research, it contains state-of-the-art infrastructure, world-class faculty, a vibrant alumni community, cutting-edge research facilities, and close industry collaborations.
The institute’s specially-designed courses ensure that students are cognisant of current technologies and practices, thereby equipping them with the tools and knowledge to solve real-world, contemporary problems. Since the founding of the institute in 1999, IIITB has enjoyed 100% placement every year, on account of the strong support of the industry and the growing base of talented alumni.
The National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) is the government institution that provides for and manages civil registration, vital statistics and legal identity services in Sierra Leone, covering births, deaths, marriages, divorces, adoptions, nullities, legitimization etc., and production of identity credentials as well as production of vital statistics to citizens and other residents in Sierra Leone.
