Sierra Leone partners with Bhutan to develop open-standards national digital ID platform

Sierra Leone and Bhutan governments have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sign Foundation (SIGN) to jointly design, develop and implement a national digital identity platform for Sierra Leone, the partners announced. The agreement underscores open-source technologies, W3C-compliant verifiable credentials, institutional capacity building and long-term national ownership of the system.
According to the joint release, the agreement between Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI), Bhutan National Digital Identity Limited (Bhutan NDI) and SIGN “marks a significant milestone in Sierra Leone’s digital transformation journey” and reflects a shared commitment to build secure, inclusive and interoperable Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that empowers citizens, strengthens public service delivery and supports economic development.
The MoU follows an earlier agreement which saw Sign assist Sierra Leone’s digital ID plans using blockchain technology. Under the new tripartite agreement, each partner is providing a unique set of contributions: MoCTI will provide strategic leadership, policy direction and cross-government coordination. Bhutan NDI will provide experience in national digital identity architecture and an open-source identity framework based on Bhutan’s own National Digital Identity programme. SIGN will lead system design, solution architecture and technical implementation.
Local technical capacity is a key component of the collaboration. The partners say the project will focus on institutional capacity building and knowledge transfer so Sierra Leonean institutions can “manage and evolve” the platform sustainably over time. To this end, the MoU provides for a joint working group to develop a phased strategic implementation roadmap for the deployment of the national digital ID system.
The platform will use open standards and W3C-compliant verifiable credentials to enable interoperability between services and systems. The announcement positions these choices as part of a wider global trend towards citizen-centric DPIs, built on recognised best practice and open standards.
The deal underscores wider trends in the adoption of digital identity, especially in Africa. The release notes say the lack of entrenched legacy systems in many African countries creates “greenfield” conditions that can speed up implementation of foundational digital ID infrastructure. Sign’s CEO Claire Ma has noted the quick proliferation of MOSIP-based deployments as an indicator that a lot of governments in Africa and the Global South are in a rush to implement foundational digital identity systems, at times outpacing legacy-laden advanced economies.
The partners said their collaboration will be staged and governed to ensure interoperability, inclusiveness, national ownership and to align with internationally recognised best practices. The MoU does not yet specify firm dates for deployment. The joint working group will develop the detailed roadmap, phased workplan and governance mechanisms required to move from agreement to an operational system.