Rwanda’s National Identification Agency (NIDA) has started registering citizens for a new digital national ID, known as the Single Digital ID (SSDID), during the International Trade Fair (Expo) in Gikondo, Kigali.

This upgraded ID will store key personal data electronically and aims to simplify access to public services without the need to carry a physical ID.

NIDA is collecting personal data that will be embedded in the new digital ID, referred to as the E-ID. This includes a person’s photo showing their eyes, full fingerprints, iris scan, full names, date and place of birth, parents’ names, email address, phone numbers (for those who have them), and more.

NIDA projects that this single digital ID will be fully rolled out within 18 months from the start of Rwanda’s Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), which began in August 2024—meaning there are now only six months left before full implementation.

The initiative aims to leave no one behind, and will transform how public services are delivered to citizens. It will eliminate unnecessary delays, reduce bureaucracy, and protect citizens from being mistreated, as each person will have a digital identity number enabling quick access to their profile and the services they request.

It will no longer be necessary to carry a physical ID. Instead, people will only need to provide their ID number or names to access services wherever they are.

“We’ve already entered a digital economy where citizens need fast services without dealing with piles of paperwork. This digital ID is designed to help them get services as quickly as possible,” Dieudonné Manago Kayihura, the NIDA official in charge of ID production, said last year.

“You’ll be able to walk into a bank, and once they enter your ID number, they’ll access your information—but only if you’ve granted consent, in line with the data protection law,” He added.

Manago noted that the current national ID does not allow institutions to retrieve a citizen’s full personal data.

The new digital ID will be integrated into all systems involving transactions, replacing the use of Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), and will be used in insurance, education, healthcare, domestic travel, and more.

“There’s already a law in place to ensure that institutions no longer burden citizens by asking for birth certificates or similar documents,” Manago stated.

He also explained that with the current ID, when someone loses it, they are issued a new one with a different number. But the E-ID will retain the same unique number permanently.

Furthermore, those with smartphones won’t need to carry a physical ID. For those without smartphones, a printed copy with the ID number will be provided.

This ID number is now being assigned to everyone—from newborns to adults—including those whose births were recorded in civil registers before the new system began. They are now being digitized and assigned a personal digital identity number.

“This is part of our ongoing journey to simplify life, so that within five years (during President Kagame’s current term), we will proudly say that the citizen is at the center of Rwanda’s digital transformation,” Manago concluded.