Malawi is almost done setting up its Biometric Identification System, which

Malawi is almost done setting up its Biometric Identification System, which will save a lot of money

Government officials say that the unregistered population is mostly made up of people who just turned 16 but haven't signed up yet.

Visitors say that the system, along with a national KYC database and more mobile internet coverage, is saving a lot of money and speeding up the Digital Malawi initiative, which aims to connect every person and business to the government. Even laws and rules are starting to catch up.

By linking many systems to the National Registration and Identification System, it may be possible to save a lot of money.

Due to the country's determination, it has already reached its goal of having 90 percent of adults covered by health insurance by 2020. It is now working toward the harder goal of covering the last 10 percent. There were about 10.9 million people who were eligible to register, which is close to the 10.3 million mark.

The United Nations Development Program and other groups helped pay for the program, which encouraged young people to go out into the community with 2,000 biometric enrollment kits to sign up the people there. The training for data cleaning, making ID cards, and other things went on all day.

The next step is to sign up babies and people younger than 16 years old. Sambo says that local hospitals are now using a computerized system to keep track of births, give each baby a permanent ID number, and make birth certificates on the spot.

With the digital ID system and the national KYC database, a lot of money is being saved. In the first year of linkage, just the Affordable Inputs Programme saved US$8 million. These savings were used to give money to farmers. Sambo says that more cost cuts could be made by linking the payroll and pension systems, requiring voters to show a photo ID, and giving out electronic licenses.

Thelma Saiwa, who works for the Reserve Bank of Malawi, says that digital ID is both an investment in making things more efficient and a way to give more people access to financial services.

People who took part in formal financial activities went from 19 percent in 2013 to 46 percent in 2018. This is still less than the current goal of 55 percent participation, though. Saiwa says that the goal is to get to 75% by 2026.

Malawi's Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Colleen Zamba, said that the country is working on laws to protect privacy and data. The previous ICT policy was allowed to end in 2013, and MPs are currently working to finish a bill draft.

Zamba says that identity is a key part of Malawi's long-term plan for growth. He also thinks that for Digital Malawi to be successful, it needs a legislative approach that includes everyone and investment. The president's secretary said that tying subsidies and social protection to ID would make it easier to plan and help the country reach the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

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