HID Global Expands Commitment to Helping End Africa's Identity Gap

Being able to verify people's identities is critical for a nation's growth and prosperity and yet nearly half of all African citizens can't prove who they are to vote, travel freely and receive government benefits and services. HID Global^®, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, is launching an initiative to help close this identity gap and will be sharing details at the ID4Africa Movement (ID4Africa 2019). The three-day conference will be hosted this week from 18-20 June 2019 in Johannesburg by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) of the Republic of South Africa.

HID Global brings to its initiative a broad solution portfolio, close working partnerships with leading integrators serving African governments, and strategic investments in its business operations dedicated to building a better future for citizens. The initiative builds on HID's proven track record of enabling effortless and worry-free identity verification for the citizens of African nations, with a steady cadence of ongoing deployments across the continent.

"HID Global addresses each step of the citizen identity journey and everything government agencies in Africa and other emerging markets need to deploy complete solutions for issuing driver's licenses, social security cards, passports and other national ID documents," said Jessica Westerouen van Meeteren, VP & Managing Director, Citizen ID business with HID Global. "Our initiative tackles the challenges of serving citizens living in remote, unconnected areas who are at the greatest risk of marginalization and exclusion, and aligns well with the ID4Africa organization's ?ID-4-All' movement aimed at facilitating economic development and the success of humanitarian aid, government services, and other critical programs."

HID Global will be at ID4Africa 2019 to highlight its extensive solutions that power trusted identities of a government's people, places and things. Each of HID's solutions help solve the technological, infrastructure and other deployment challenges that prevent citizens from having the official identification they need to access government services and programs.

For example:

• The company's identity document and mobile identity solutions pave the way for convenient and secure access to government programs and services.
• Tanzania is using HID's citizen ID solutions to add e-Visa and e-Permit capabilities to its e-Passport, which HID helped deploy last year as part of the Tanzania e-Immigration program. The new web-based visa and residence permit services allow visitors and residents to apply for and receive validated credentials for traveling or living in the country.
• Several African governments have already embraced the company's card and identity document personalization solutions for national ID, resident ID, driver's license, voter ID and refugee identification programs.

Of an estimated 1.1 billion people worldwide that cannot officially prove their identity, it is believed that approximately 500 million live in sub-Saharan Africa. Problems are worsened in areas where conflict adds to the millions of displaced people who flee without the necessary identification documents to receive basic legal, social and economic rights and opportunities.

HID's citizen ID solutions enable disenfranchised citizens to be enrolled into government identification programs, bringing empowerment, freedom and connectivity to those who need it most, and making social benefits programs more fraud-resistant and border crossings more convenient. The company's broad portfolio help solve these problems while bringing a sense of inclusion, engagement and pride in regional and national communities.

See live demonstrations of HID Global's trusted identity solutions at ID4Africa 2019

Visit HID from June 18-20 in Booth #G1 at the Emperors Palace Convention Center in Johannesburg to learn more about HID Global's broad range products, solutions and services that make it more convenient and safer to achieve what citizens want to do in everyday life.

About HID Global
HID Global powers the trusted identities of the world's people, places and things. We make it possible for people to transact safely, work productively and travel freely. Our trusted identity solutions give people convenient access to physical and digital places and connect things that can be identified, verified and tracked digitally. Millions of people around the world use HID products and services to navigate their everyday lives, and over 2 billion things are connected through HID technology. We work with governments, educational institutions, hospitals, financial institutions, industrial businesses and some of the most innovative companies on the planet. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, HID Global has over 3,000 employees worldwide and operates international offices that support more than 100 countries. HID Global® is an ASSA ABLOY Group brand. For more information, visit www.hidglobal.com.

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