Build For The Informal Sector Hackathon 2020: Identity Management

[owans]

Description

Nigeria’s informal economy has grown considerably over the last decade.

These are the individuals and micro-enterprises whose economic well-being is birthed and buoyed on the fringes of the formal economy; business activities that remain unregulated, and oftentimes, completely unknown.

Initially, much of the rhetoric centred on the need to ‘manage’ this ever-expanding behemoth that the informal sector was becoming. This narrative has since evolved into one that seeks to formalise these businesses, by catering to their needs and providing them with much-needed support.

Like other parts of the economy, the informal sector has taken a hit from the COVID-19 crisis. Governments have mandated workers to take costly protective measures, such as the regular purchase of masks, the reduction in the number of passengers for motorcycle taxis, or the observance of curfews. Farmers have seen falling demand for their produce as restaurants have reduced their purchases in the face of dwindling traffic.

We leave it to you to design the new conditions for the informal economy, and offer the following provocations as a place to get started;

• Identity management
  • Beyond the use of identity cards, bank verification numbers, etc., how can we design an economy where individuals can build a solid identity with other means of identification they can provide such as their telephone number, Social security numbers, school certificates, etc.

Resources

• World bank
• ILO
• The role of digital identity management in the internet economy
• Africa Report
• Africa Report