Picture : Mr Eng Engr. Aliyu Abubakar Aziz, Director General/CEO, NIMC, Nigeria and Chair of the OSIA Advisory Committee and Ms Debora Comparin, Chair of the OSIA Workgroup, Secure Identity Alliance on stage at ID4Africa for the launch of OSIA.
Following the successful launch of OSIA (Open Standards Identity API) at ID4Africa in Johannesburg, the Secure Identity Alliance is happy to welcome the following government agencies in its OSIA Advisory Committee:
OSIA Advisory Committee
Updated on 3rd September 2019
Côte D’Ivoire, represented by Mr Konaté Diakalidia, Directeur général, Office National de l’Etat Civil et de l’Identification (ONECI).
DRC, represented by Mr Musavuli Mbutho Moussa, Coordonnateur de la cellule technique, Cabinet du conseiller spécial du numérique au près du Chef de l'Etat and Mr Tshikuna Jean Mulumba, Chargé des Opérations PRSDHU, cfef - Cellule d'exécution des financements en faveur des Etats Fragiles - Ministère des finances.
Gabon, represented by Mr Aimé-Martial Massamba, Deputy Director, The Official Biometric Identification Project of Gabon (IBOGA).
Ghana, represented by Mr Kingsley Asare Addo, Registrar of Births and Deaths, Head of Civil Registration and Mr Emmanuel Nortey Botchway, Assistant Registrar – Head of ICT.
Guinea, represented by Mr Mory Camara, DG ANGEIE - Member of the Permanent Technical Team ANIES( National Agency for Economic and Social Inclusion) and President of the IIC Council (ID4africa).
- With the participation of Mr Ansoumane Camara, Special Advisor Economic, Financial and Fiscal Affairs to the Prime Minister of Guinea for the inaugural meeting.
Guinea WURI, represented by Dr Himi Deen Touré, Technical Director of WURI (Programme d’Identification numérique pourl'intégration régionale et l'inclusion en Afrique de l’Ouest) and Mr Ibrahima Sory Keita, Advisor Telecoms & Digital Economy.
Lesotho, represented by Mr Tumelo E. Raboletsi, Director, National Identity and Civil Registry Department
Madagascar, represented by Mr Balsama Hellarison Andriantseheno, Coordinateur Général, Secrétariat Général de la Présidence de la République and Ms Salohy Norotiana Randrianarisoa, Director General, Judiciary Affairs.
Mali, represented by Mr Sibiri Philippe Berthe, Directeur du Centre de Traitement des Données de l'Etat Civil.
Sierra Leone, represented by Mr Mohamed M. Massaquoi, Director General National Civil Registration Authority.
Uganda, represented by Ms Judy Obitre-Gama, Executive Director, National Identification and Registration Authority, Uganda and Ms Grace Nanyanzi, Manager, Information Systems, National Identification and Registration Authority.
Ms Debora Comparin, Chair of the OSIA Workgroup, and Mr Jaume Dubois, Member of the OSIA Workgroup, Secure Identity Alliance during the information meeting on OSIA at ID4Africa.
The inaugural meeting of the OSIA Advisory Committee will take place at
Trustech on 26th November 2019.
Top:Mr Tshikuna Jean Mulumba, Chargé des Opérations PRSDHU, cfef, Ministry of Finance, RDC and Ms Grace Nanyanzi, Manager, Information Systems, National Identification and Registration Authority, Uganda - Dr HimiDeen TOURE, TechnicalDirector of WURI (Programme d’Identification numérique pour l'intégration régionale et l'inclusion en Afrique de l’Ouest) - Mr Eng Engr. Aliyu Abubakar Aziz, Director General/CEO, NIMC and Chair of the OSIA Advisory Committee.
Bottom Right: Part of the newly-formed OSIA Advisory Committee -Ms Stephanie de Labriolle – Public Affairs and International Relations, Secure Identity Alliance - Mr Tunji Turodola, Advisor to NIMC, Nigeria - Mr Jaume Dubois, Member of the OSIA Workgroup, Secure Identity Alliance - Mr BalsamaHellarison Andriantseheno, CoordinateurGénéral, SecrétariatGénéral de la Présidence de la République, Madagascar - MrTshikuna Jean Mulumba, Chargé des Opérations PRSDHU, cfef, Ministry of Finance, RDC - Ms Hadiza Dagabana, General Manager - Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Services/Commission Secretary – NIMC, Nigeria - Ms Debora Comparin, Chair of the OSIA Workgroup, Secure Identity Alliance - MrEng Engr. Aliyu Abubakar Aziz, Director General/CEO, NIMC, Nigeria and Chair of the OSIA Advisory Committee - Ms Grace Nanyanzi, Manager, Information Systems, National Identification and Registration Authority, Uganda - Mr Romain Galesnes-Fontaine, Deputy Board Member, Secure Identity Alliance.
Bottom Left: Ivory Coast joins the OSIA Advisory Committee - Mr LabinotCarreti, Board Member, Secure Identity Alliance – Mr Antoine Grenier, Member of the Secure Identity Alliance – Ms Stéphanie de Labriolle, Public Affairs & International Relations, Secure Identity Alliance – Mr Romain Galesnes-Fontaine, Deputy Board Member of the Secure Identity Alliance – Ms Debora Comparin, Chair of the OSIA Workgroup, Secure Identity Alliance, Mr Diakalidia Konate, Director General ONECI - Office National de l'Etat Civil et de l'Identification, Côte d’Ivoire, Mr Philippe Barreau, Board Member, Secure Identity Alliance.
A new era of openness
Directly addressing the lack of standardization, the SIA pioneering OSIA initiative (Open Standards Identity API - Application Program Interface) (www.osia.io)ushers in a new era of openness and collaboration between identity players and industry and governments that will eliminate the interoperability and data sharing challenges created by the current lack of universal technical standards within today’s identity ecosystem that have, until now, hampered the evolution of national identity systems.
Developed within the SIA and endorsed by the world’s leading identity system vendors, this landmark initiative demonstrates an industry-wide commitment to breaking down the technical barriers to achieving the United Nations goal of establishing a legal identity for all.
OSIA makes it possible for governments and implementing bodies across the world to invest with confidence. Initiating robust identification platforms for their citizens, preserving the value of existing systems while evolving their environments without fear of vendor lock-in.
The OSIA initiative is governed under a formal structure including an independent OSIA Advisory Committee, with work carried out by the OSIA GitHub Community and an OSIA Workgroup.
OSIA Workgroup
Last Updated 7th January 2020
SIA was happy to welcome three new companies to its OSIA Workgroup: Intercede, Laxton and VFSGlobal joining existing members De La Rue (HID), Gemalto – a Thales Company, IDEMIA, IN Groupe, Veridos.
Coppernic, DERMALOG, Digitech, and Gravity have since joined the OSIA workgroup.
Multiple applications have been received by private sector which are being processed at the moment.
Join the OSIA Initiative
To join send us an email at
How does it work ?
You don’t need to be a member of the SIA. To participate in the workgroup, you just need to become an Advisory Observer (this is the equivalent of signing a MoU).
‘Non-government’ organizations join the OSIA Workgroup - The annual fee is fixed at 2,5K Euros per annum
‘Government' organizations join the OSIA Advisory Committee – Free
More information on OSIA Governance here.
Next Meetings
The upcoming meetings of the OSIA Workgroup by audio conference are scheduled on
5th September, 8th October, 7th November and 12th December 2019
A joint OSIA Advisory Committee – Workgroup meeting will take place at
Trustech on 26th November 2019.
'IN' Africa at Trustech 2019
The OSIA Advisory Committee meeting members will take part in the conference on 27th November 2019
at Trustech from 10 to 13.00.
How Governments are facing Identity Needs and Challenges
Addressing the growing need for digital identification has become an essential task for governments across the world. Requirements are becoming increasingly strict as the creation, maintenance and derivation of official identities demands more sophisticated processes and technologies. It’s a changing world. Civil and population registries management are profoundly modernized. Services requiring identity are now used in cross-border transport and flows, public administration, social inclusion programs and more. While API applications and digital services related to government platforms need to cope with new identification methods. If that wasn’t enough, the integration of multiple security layers is another critical requirement to address the need for physical and electronic convergence.
With SDG2030 on the horizon, this conference track provides an assessment of the progress in government practices in this field and addresses the latest challenges faced by governments in improving the experience, satisfaction and safety of their citizens with a special focus this year on Africa.
With the speaking participation of :
Mr Ansoumane Camara - Special Advisor Economic, Financial and Fiscal Affairs – Office of the Prime Minister, Primature, Republic of Guinea
Mr Niall Mc Cann, Policy Advisor/ Project Manager – Legal Identity, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, United Nations Development Programme
Mr Eng Engr. Aliyu Abubakar Aziz, Director General/CEO, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria and Chair of the OSIA Advisory Committee
Mr Jean-Claude Perrin, Secretary General, Secure Identity Alliance
Mr Konaté Diakalidia, Directeur général, Office National de l’Etat Civil et de l’Identification (ONECI), Côte d’Ivoire
Mr Tshikuna Jean Mulumba, Chargé des Opérations PRSDHU, cfef - Cellule d'exécution des financements en faveur des Etats Fragiles - Ministère des finances, DRC
Mr Aimé-Martial Massamba, Deputy Director, The Official Biometric Identification Project of Gabon (IBOGA)
Mr Tumelo Raboletsi, Director - National Identity and Civil Registry Department, Lesotho
Mr Balsama Hellarison Andriantseheno, Coordinateur Général, Secrétariat Général de la Présidence de la République de Madagascar
Mr Mohamed M. Massaquoi, Director General, National Civil Registration Authority, Sierra Leone
Ms Judy Obitre-Gama, Executive Director, National Identification and Registration Authority, Uganda
Dr Himi Deen Touré, Technical Director of WURI (Programme d’Identification numérique pour l'intégration régionale et l'inclusion en Afrique de l’Ouest), Primature, Guinea WURI
Ms Debora Comparin, Chair of the OSIA Workgroup, Secure Identity Alliance