Uganda is planning a big step toward digitizing services for its citizens by launching a digital ID system similar to India’s Aadhaar, using open-source technology developed in India. The country is also looking into using India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to make transactions cheaper throughout its economy.

In an interview with ANI, Rosemary Kisembo, the CEO of Uganda's National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), shared that Uganda has completely adopted the Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) to fit its national laws. She said that in the coming weeks, Uganda will roll out five services using this system: new registration, ID renewal, correction of errors, replacement of lost IDs, and issuing IDs for the first time. MOSIP is a digital identity platform developed in India. It’s open-source and helps governments create secure and inclusive national ID systems, similar to India’s Aadhaar. 

As Uganda moves from a brownfield ID system to a contemporary, interoperable platform, the ID system's launch represents a significant turning point in the country's digital transformation process. "We have had an immense year of interactions. It has been a very enriching experience, one that we look forward to deepening across sectors and communities," Kisembo said. Kisembo mentioned that a pilot project for this is already in progress. Within the next two to three months, Uganda will also link its ID system with birth and death registrations. The nation is now looking to India's UPI as a blueprint for quick, inexpensive digital payments, regardless of identity. "The immediate benefit of UPI will be a reduction in the cost of transactions. It creates a free wallet for every citizen, enabling seamless money movement," Kisembo added.

She pointed out that India's success in reaching over a billion people through Aadhaar is a major achievement. She said the "leapfrog of India cannot be ignored" and that it provides useful lessons for countries like Uganda. At the same time, she highlighted the importance of having sustainable funding models to help grow similar digital infrastructure in Africa. "Raising capital in Africa remains a challenge. We hope to interest not just technologists, but also capitalists willing to take a risk with Africa," she said. India's MOSIP platform, created by the International Institute of Information Technology, Bengaluru (IIIT-B), is already being used in countries like Sri Lanka, Morocco, the Philippines, Guinea, Ethiopia, and Togo. Now, Uganda has also joined the growing list of nations using this technology to provide unique digital identities.