Apr 27, 2022, 3:58 pm EDT 

 Chris Burt

Ethiopia issues second tender for biometric registration hardware for digital ID enrollment

Ethiopia is accepting bids to supply and install biometric registration kits for use in the establishment of the country’s national digital ID program.

The second tender from Ministry of Innovation and Technology’s Ethiopian Digital Foundations Project (EDFP) follows a contract opportunity for a total of 315 biometric registration kits announced just weeks ago.

The newly-announced contract opportunity, for ‘The Supply, Delivery and Installation of Biometric Registration Kits for National ID Program,’ specifies a need for 75 fingerprint biometric scanners, 75 iris scanners, and 75 cameras for capturing facial images, as well as 75 portable document scanners. It also includes carrying cases, batteries, computing devices (which may include laptops or tablets), backdrop screens for capturing facial photographs, and portable monochrome printers. Unlike the previous tender, the latest bid is for a single lot, so all items requested must be included for a bid to be considered.

Minimum requirements for bidders include compliance with all technical details, hardware and software specifications, and at least five years of experience supplying and delivering equipment of the type specified. Bidders are also expected to provide client reference letters for at least two similar projects with minimum bid totals of US$300,000 each.

The tender is supported in part by funding from the World Bank for the EDFP, which totals $200 million.

The National ID Program (NIDP) has been holding a series of public consultations as it works on the legislative framework to support the system.

Ethiopia is partnered with MOSIP to leverage open-source software, and the partners are currently engaged in a pilot with a goal of 100,000 biometric registrations.

All bids for the latest biometric registration kit contract are due by May 25, 2022.