Lessons Learned: Reflecting on MOSIP’s Journey to Scale
MOSIP is a Digital Public Good (DPG) that has gained rapid traction. Over 100 million individuals have been issued a digital ID using MOSIP, a commendable feat for a project that is just five years old. Built as an open-source solution, MOSIP is being implemented in countries as diverse as Ethiopia and the Philippines. This case study outlines the factors that led to the rapid adoption of MOSIP and the lessons that other DPGs can derive from its success.
The Modular Open Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) is a foundational identification (ID) system designed for use by national governments to provide individuals with a unique identifier that can be used to increase and improve access to critical public and private services. As of 20th November 2023, 100 million digital IDs have been issued using MOSIP since its launch in 2018. Full implementations are underway in the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Morocco, while Togo, Sri Lanka, and Uganda are in advanced stages of preparation for national implementation. Another five countries – Sierra Leone, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, and Niger – are piloting MOSIP to create blueprints for a national rollout.
In addition to its status as an open-source solution or DPG, MOSIP is an exemplar of the solutions available to build out foundational digital public infrastructure (DPI), an approach to ensuring data systems including identification, civil registry and vital statistics, payments, registries, and data exchange—are designed, deployed, and governed to benefit people. Proponents of DPI believe this approach can accelerate the attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this paper, we examine the factors that led to the early successes of MOSIP, the challenges that lie ahead, and lessons that might benefit similar projects.
