Building Trust First: Why Digital Identity Will Define Africa’s Digital Economy

In an exclusive interview, Mediafon CEO Bronius Skudutis explores how trusted registries, biometric verification, and consistent regulatory enforcement create the backbone for Africa’s digital economy

1. Digital identity is increasingly becoming the foundation of digital economies. How do you view its importance for Africa’s transformation journey?

Digital identity is becoming a basic requirement for participation in the digital economy. Without a trusted and easy way to prove who they are, people face limited access to financial services, government platforms, healthcare, and many other digital services.

For Africa, this is not only a technology issue, it is an economic one. The easier it is for people to identify themselves, the easier it becomes to access services, do business, and participate in the formal economy.

Roads enabled physical trade. Trusted digital identity enables digital trade. It creates the trust layer that allows governments, businesses, and citizens to interact confidently in the digital world. Without trusted identity, it is difficult to scale digital services, expand financial inclusion, attract investment, or reduce fraud.

That is why digital identity is becoming such an important priority across Africa.

2. What are the biggest fraud challenges facing governments, telecom operators, and financial institutions today?

When discussing fraud, we often jump straight to new technologies, new regulations, or new strategies. In reality, many countries and organizations already have the necessary frameworks in place.

The bigger challenge is implementation. Are identity checks being performed consistently? Can organizations connect the right data points to identify anomalies, duplicate records, or suspicious behaviour? Are additional verification steps triggered when risk indicators appear?

In my experience, fraud is often not the result of missing rules. It is the result of missed signals. Organizations usually have more information available than they realize. The challenge is turning that information into timely decisions and action.

3. How can digital identity solutions improve financial inclusion across underserved communities?

Financial inclusion is often discussed as a question of access, but access starts with trust. A bank, mobile money provider, or lender needs confidence that the person on the other side of the transaction is who they claim to be.

Digital identity helps remove that barrier. In some cases, biometric verification can make the process even more secure and convenient, especially where traditional identity documents may be limited or difficult to verify.

What matters is not the technology itself, but the outcome. When people can be identified quickly, securely, and remotely, financial institutions can reach more customers, and citizens can access services that were previously out of reach.

4. What lessons can African countries learn from successful digital identity implementations around the world?

At Mediafon, we have seen this repeatedly across digital infrastructure projects in different markets. Start with a real problem, solve it step by step, prove that the system works in practice, then move to the next problem. Repeat.

Countries rarely succeed because they have the best strategy. They succeed because they execute consistently. The real challenge is moving from plans and pilot projects to solutions that people use every day.

The strongest programs usually begin with practical objectives: improving access to financial services, reducing fraud, or making government services easier to use. They demonstrate value, build trust, and then expand over time.

Africa’s opportunity is not to copy someone else’s model, but to take proven ideas and implement them in a way that works locally.

5. How can policymakers balance security requirements with privacy and data protection concerns?

I think the debate is sometimes framed the wrong way. Too often, privacy is treated as a reason not to act, while security is used as a justification to collect more data. In reality, security and privacy are often presented as competing priorities, but citizens expect both.

In my view, policymakers should start with a simple principle: collect only the data that is genuinely needed, encrypt and protect it properly, and be transparent about how it is used. Security should be designed on the assumption that breaches can happen, which means sensitive data must remain protected and unusable even if it falls into the wrong hands.

From Mediafon’s experience implementing national Device Import Registration (DIR) and CEIR initiatives, one lesson stands out: people are usually not opposed to registration itself. They want to understand why it is needed, how their data will be used, and how it will be protected. After all, nobody questions the need to register a car because the benefits are clear. The same principle applies in the digital world. When the value is clear and trust is established, adoption follows.

6. What role will biometric technologies play in future digital identity ecosystems?

Biometrics will play an important role in the future of digital identity, but their success will depend on how they are integrated into the broader ecosystem. On their own, biometrics can verify a person. Combined with trusted identity data and effective verification processes, they become significantly more powerful.

The main advantage of biometrics is convenience. People can forget passwords, lose documents, or change phone numbers, but biometric characteristics provide an additional layer of verification that is always available.

That said, biometrics should complement other identity and security mechanisms, not replace them. The real value comes when different verification methods work together and adapt to the level of risk involved.

The future is likely to be less about collecting more data and more about verifying identity with greater confidence while keeping the user experience simple and secure.

“Roads enabled physical trade. Trusted digital identity enables digital trade.”

7. How can telecom operators leverage digital identity frameworks to enhance customer trust and service delivery?

Telecom operators play an important role in the digital economy, but trust cannot be built by operators acting alone. It requires a broader ecosystem with trusted identity frameworks and reliable sources of verification.

For example, customer information should be verified against authoritative sources rather than relying solely on data provided during registration. This helps prevent identity abuse, supports compliance requirements, and provides better protection for citizens against fraud.

In some areas, a centralized approach can bring significant benefits. A national SIM registry, for example, allows customers to see how many SIM cards are registered in their name, set reasonable limits, and quickly identify unauthorized registrations or suspicious activity. This not only helps prevent fraud but also gives citizens greater visibility and control over their digital identity.

Ultimately, trust comes from verification, transparency, and giving people confidence that the system is working in their best interest.

8. What policy measures are needed to strengthen digital trust across African markets?

Three policy measures matter most: trusted sources of verification, clear accountability across institutions, and consistent enforcement of existing rules.

Many countries already have strategies, regulations, and frameworks in place. The next step is making sure institutions can securely verify information against trusted registries, while citizens have visibility and control over how their information is used.

Another critical element is citizen empowerment. When individuals can see and control what is registered in their name, trust becomes immediate, personal, and measurable.

Digital trust is not declared, it is demonstrated. It comes from systems that work reliably, detect abuse early, and give users confidence that they are protected.

“Citizens do not trust strategies. They trust systems that work.”