The World Bank has provided $45.5m to Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission as part of the Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project.
According to the World Bank’s implementation report, the funds were disbursed in several tranches between December 2021 and April 2024, with disbursement still ongoing.
The Bretton Woods Institute approved $430m for the project in February 2020, with the $45.5 million allocated accounting for about 10.5 per cent of the total project cost. The project is co-financed by the World Bank’s International Development Association ($115m), the French Agency for Development ($100m), and the European Investment Bank ($215m).
“This will enable people in Nigeria, especially marginalised groups, to access welfare-enhancing services. The project will also enhance the ID system’s legal and technical safeguards to protect personal data and privacy,” the World Bank said in a statement.
The initiative aims to increase the number of Nigerians enrolled in the National Identification Number system. Despite the project’s June 1, 2024, deadline to enrol 148 million Nigerians for NIN, the country remains behind schedule.
