SMART Zambia National Coordinator, Mr Percy Chinyama, has announced plans to build a team of young minds straight from school to champion a robust digital identity system for the country. 

Mr Chinyama said this during a workshop on Accelerating Sustainable Digital Transformation through Collaborative Efforts between GovStack and DPx at the ID4AFRICA 2024 conference in Cape Town, South Africa.  

“The goal is to create a “cadre of young minds” who are not yet influenced by other ideas and can be trained to develop a centre of excellence for digital identity. This team will be responsible for creating a robust digital ID system that can transform the country’s information systems, ” he said. 

Mr Chinyama announced that, his institution’s vision is to create a digital identity system that is secure, efficient, inclusive that can support Zambia’s economic growth and development.

“We can create a policy to replace information systems we have countrywide. If you have a dedicated team for this initiative, with emphasis on the potential impact of this project on Zambia’s economy,’’ he added.

He explained that the team of young minds will be tasked with developing a system that can integrate with existing information systems, and provide a robust and reliable platform for identity verification and authentication.

“This initiative has the potential to transform the way Zambia manages its information systems, and can serve as a model for other countries in the region, ” he said. 

As the conference ended, the audience was left with a sense of excitement and anticipation for the future of digital identity governance in Africa.

The ID4AFRICA conference provided a platform for experts to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices in digital identity governance, and Zambia’s announcement is a clear indication of the country’s commitment to taking a lead in this area.