Much has been said and written about Africa’s vast but largely unrealised potential as an economic superpower, as well as what can be done to unleash that potential.

On the upside, the continent has a growing workforce: The World Bank asserts that by 2075 one third of the world’s population – and of its working-age population – will be African. It’s the only region globally where the workforce will grow continually in coming decades.

This presents an unprecedented opportunity for economic growth and prosperity through investments in education, skills and health. A few factors seem to count in favour of the continent and its government and people being able to capitalise on this opportunity.

On example is the growing evidence of the efficacy of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). With 47 states as signatories, it’s the world’s biggest free-trade area by number of member states, after the World Trade Organization, and the biggest in population and geographic size, spanning 1.3bn people across the world’s second largest continent.

But it’s taken time to progress towards its goals of a single, liberalised trade market, lowering barriers to capital and labor to facilitate investment, developing regional infrastructure, and establishing a continental customs union.

Until last month when the AU announced that the AfCTFA was essentially fully operational and – should its proponents be proven correct – geared to achieve its overall aims of improved socioeconomic development, reduced poverty, and making Africa more competitive in the global economy.

That’s a promising step forward for a continent with dazzling potential and enviable natural resources.

Another development that might help that potential manifest is the liberalisation of its commercial airspace. Home to 12% of the world’s population, Africa has until now accounted for just 2% of the world’s air traffic. This was partly due to African governments restricting their air services markets to protect state-owned carriers. This has meant that air travellers and cargo in Africa must fly to neighbouring countries via hubs in Europe or the Middle East, vastly increasing costs and time spent in the air.

African leaders recognised this problem as far back as 1999 when 44 states signed the Yamoussoukro Agreement – now the Yamoussoukro Decision – that would liberalise air markets and bring into effect the Single African Air Trade Market (SAATM).

There’s little doubt of the benefits: An IATA survey suggests that if just 12 key Africa countries opened their markets and increased connectivity, an extra 155 000 jobs and US$1.3bn in annual GDP would be created in those countries. To date, 34 countries have signed up to the SAATM. These countries represent over 80% of the existing aviation market in Africa.

To many, it feels like Africa is poised at the brink of something truly great. But with that potential comes the need for greater efficiency and security on the movement of people and goods, and a crucial component of that is identity security.

That’s the focus of the three-day ID4Africa conference in Cape Town this week. Founded a decade ago, ID4Africa is the only Pan-African movement that helps African nations build the strategic capacity required for developing robust identity systems to enable development and humanitarian action.

The importance of identity security to the continent is evident: more than 2000 delegates from 90 countries, including representatives from more than 50 African states attend the conference. Agenda items include:

• Sharing policies, best practices, and global standards for developing successful identification programs including civil registration, legal and digital identity.
• Identifying pathways for harmonisation of practices and data across sectors, countries, and regions.
• Highlighting approaches for digital transformation including the emerging Digital Public Infrastructure anchored on digital identity.
• Promoting inclusive dialogue among stakeholders (government, civil society, development actors, and private sector) to address risks associated with digital identity systems and implement effective mitigation strategies.
• Identifying key success factors with emphasis on trust and inclusion (especially gender), user experience and lessons learned from responsible digital identity implementations including data protection and privacy.

Practical examples of this could include, for example, digital travel credentials (DTC) or mobile passports that help enable seamless travel experiences. For governments and their agencies, this can enable more efficient enforcement of homeland security. But at the core of the issue is a matter that’s at once more practical and fundamental: Since its inception, the organisation has advocated identity for all, not simply as a right consistent with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, but as a practical, pragmatic necessity for access to services and rights.

Legal identity provides a level of trust to fulfil business interactions that otherwise could not run smoothly, which if you follow the idea even further are a basis for economic development. Inclusive identity schemes and identity protection built on respect for privacy and human rights are pivotal for driving socioeconomic development and facilitating the digital transformation of society and government.

At a time when Africa is poised for a shift in growth and development, it’s essential that the continent, its people and their representatives are heard in a crucial discourse on protecting the identity of individuals.

Natascha Trivisas is the Senior Director of Marketing Communications at HID’s Citizen Identity (CID) Business Area