Digital Identity is not a technology story. It is an inclusion story.
By Agnès Diallo - CEO and Chairwoman, IN Groupe
Yesterday at VivaTech, I had the opportunity to speak about one of the most decisive layers of tomorrow’s public infrastructure: Digital Identity.
For IN Groupe, a historic player in the sector, the question is no longer whether Digital Identity matters. It is increasingly clear that without a trusted, interoperable identity layer, the right of every citizen to be himself cannot materialize. Payments cannot be attributed to verified individuals, data exchange cannot be authorised, and e-government services cannot be securely accessed. In the digital age, identity is the layer that makes everything else possible. When designed and operated at scale, it becomes a powerful engine to unlock economic growth, drive public service efficiency and enable more inclusive societies. By 2030, DPI could unlock economic value equivalent to 3-13% of GDP.
And yet, this foundation is still inaccessible for too many people. Today, 800 million people worldwide still lack any official proof of identity. Without it, there is no reliable pathway to vote, open a bank account, cross a border, access healthcare, education or social protection. On top of this, a further 2.8 billion people have no access to secure Digital Identity services. This is not only a digital divide. It is a matter of rights, inclusion and trust. IN Groupe’s white paper "Digital Identity: Infrastructure that changes everything" analyses for the first time up to 210 countries across 17 variables to understand what separates countries that have successfully scaled Digital Identity from those that have not. One of its clearest findings: success does not depend on tech, or on GDP alone. Countries reach maturity when their DPI is designed with a combination of three essential dimensions: technology, governance and ecosystem adoption.
Even if a country has a state-of-the-art system and a strong legal framework, it still fails to deliver impact if it is not used in everyday life. Digital Identity only becomes a powerful and trusted infrastructure when banks, hospitals, schools, telecom operators and public services can rely on it in practice. Adoption must therefore be designed into the system from the beginning. This is where Digital Identity starts creating value at scale.
The same is true for inclusion. A Digital Identity system that leaves part of the population behind does not fully play its role as public infrastructure. Inclusion means that from the start, everyone can use it - through multiple enrolment pathways, assisted digital access, offline fallbacks, accessible interfaces, biometric alternatives and clear safeguards.
Trust is the other condition for scale. People adopt identity systems when they can understand them, use them, find them useful, control what they share and get the appropriate assistance if something goes wrong.
Our analysis shows that 94% of Nascent countries lack any legal redress mechanism for citizens. This is not a technical gap. It is a trust gap. It must be embedded in the architecture itself, through legal protections, transparent governance, data control, independent oversight and clear citizen rights.
The countries that have achieved scale show that there is no single path to success, but there is a clear lesson: Digital Identity must be sovereign by design, inclusive by intention and interoperable by default.
We have no other choice but to put these principles in motion now, as the infrastructure we build today will serve citizens for decades. It will determine who is included, who can access essential services, and how trust is organised between people, institutions and the digital economy. If we do want change, now is a good time to act!
So, who’s with us?