Editor Ayomide Otitoju
Identy.io, a global biometric authentication technology company specialising in secure, mobile-first identity verification, has announced plans to expand its operations across Africa, with an initial focus on Kenya and Nigeria.
The expansion is aimed at strengthening the company’s service offerings in key African markets and supporting the growing demand for digital identity solutions. To drive the initiative, Identy.io has appointed a regional leadership team tasked with engaging stakeholders across government, financial services, telecommunications and other regulated sectors. The company also announced the appointment of Matus Kapusta as Product Director for its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) product portfolio.
The move comes as governments across Africa accelerate the deployment of national digital identity systems to improve public service delivery, enhance financial inclusion and build digital public infrastructure. According to the World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) data, about 80 per cent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa have basic identification, although coverage varies widely across countries, with several recording rates below 70 per cent. These gaps continue to limit access to essential services and economic opportunities.
Countries such as Kenya and Nigeria are making significant investments in public digital infrastructure, integrating identity systems with public services, financial access and mobile connectivity as part of broader economic development strategies.
Speaking on the expansion, Identy.io Co-founder, Antony Vendhan, said the company is positioning itself as a long-term partner in Africa’s digital transformation. He noted that Identy.io is moving away from traditional, hardware-heavy identity systems by adopting a software-first approach that leverages standard smartphones for biometric capture, document processing, digital identity issuance and large-scale biometric verification.
“This approach enables our clients to reach underserved communities and provide secure, multimodal access to digital identities, unlocking new economic opportunities,” Vendhan said.
Identy.io said its expansion will begin with Kenya and Nigeria, with plans to enter additional African markets under a phased regional growth strategy. The regional leadership team will work with public and private sector clients to support responsible and scalable identity deployments aligned with national digital transformation priorities.
As part of its industry validation efforts, the company disclosed that its ABIS system has completed the Modular Open Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) partner compliance process and is now listed on the MOSIP Marketplace. The platform enables governments and ecosystem partners to evaluate compliant technologies for MOSIP-aligned digital identity deployments.
To support its African growth plans, Identy.io announced several key leadership appointments. Dr. Olajide Olasiyan-Ola has been named Regional Head for West Africa, bringing over two decades of experience in biometric identity and digital infrastructure, including involvement in Nigeria’s Bank Verification Number initiative. Edwin Mutisya has been appointed Senior Sales Manager, based in Kenya, with a background in implementing identity solutions for banks and telecommunications operators. Matus Kapusta, with more than 16 years of experience in biometric innovation, will oversee the strategic development of the company’s ABIS product portfolio as Product Director.
Identy.io said the appointments underscore its commitment to building strong regional leadership as it deepens its footprint across Africa’s digital identity ecosystem.
