Digital ID trust cannot be fully automated, it needs the human layer: GITEX Africa panel

A panel at the recent GITEX Africa 2026 event, which took place from April 7–9 in the imperial Moroccan city of Marrakech, described digital ID trust as something achievable not only through multi-stakeholder collaboration but also by building a strong human layer.

Three panelists from government and the private sector shared their perspectives on how collaboration between the parties involved can sustain the digital identity and trust momentum currently being built around the world.

The focus of the panel, moderated by CNBC Australia’s Amanda Drury, was on how such partnerships can boost the adoption of digital services made available to citizens across sectors, in order to improve their daily lives.

El Hadji Malick Gueye, General Director for Senegal at fintech startup Wave; Dr. Muhammad Sharif, Advisor for Science and Environment at the Rabat-based Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO); and Dr. P.C. Jaffer, Secretary to the Government in charge of budget and resources for the Indian State of Karnataka, all emphasized the undeniable role of trust in digital ID.

Gueye described trust as a fundamental pillar of every country’s digital ecosystem but opined that it cannot be entirely automated. He and the other speakers agreed that technology alone will not convince people to trust digital identity systems. Instead, trust must be built through human networks, inclusive governance, and practical technical literacy among decision-makers.

This is exactly what they are doing at Wave, he said. Wave, which describes itself as the first unicorn in Francophone Africa, operates in ten West and Central African countries and is one of the fintechs working to deepen financial inclusion across the continent.

“Trust is vital, especially in Africa, where human contact remains very important. Even though we are a digital company, we deliberately maintain a vast network of agents. Across Africa, we have 150,000 agents,” Gueye said.

“They act as our first ambassadors. They explain the product, help customers understand the process, and reassure them. Even in countries like Senegal, where we have reached a level of saturation, they continue to help us push our development further. The reality is that trust cannot be fully automated. That is why we leverage our agents to continue our growth dynamic.”

Sharif stated that in building trust, cooperation is a very important aspect, and that is one of the priorities of their work at ICESCO.

“At ICESCO, we are firmly convinced of one thing: the importance of international cooperation. We actively foster it,” he said, adding that networking is one of the key pillars of their work as an intergovernmental, non-profit organisation that operates through a large setup of national commissions.

For Jaffer, building a solid human layer to enhance digital trust entails a great deal, including improving technical capacity and enabling a full understanding of the technology involved.

“That is a very significant challenge because most of the people who manage government programs do not come from a technology background, and they need not. They do not need to know every nuance of the technology,” he said.

“However, designing any digital system actually requires two distinct sets of skills. First, you need a very clear understanding of your domain or sector. Second, you need a certain level of technical literacy, not necessarily the ability to write code, but an understanding of the broader architecture, business processes, and the kinds of algorithms suited to the task at hand,” he stated.

He added that with constant work on different systems over time, it is possible to acquire that knowledge.

“Myself, I come from a humanities background. My formal qualifications are in education, but through experience, I have developed an understanding of how to design digital projects and can engage meaningfully with technical teams. The key thing is being able to translate your sectoral knowledge and requirements into language a technical person can understand,” he shared.

To support his point about capacity building, the official cited the work being done by the International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore (IIIT-B), where MOSIP, a major global player in trusted digital ID today, was incubated.

He added that programs such as IIIT-B’s cover questions including what kind of digital ID platform to use, whether to opt for open-source or proprietary solutions, and what database structures are appropriate at different scales.

The speakers also shared their thoughts about what role AI-powered identity verification systems can play in bolstering digital ID trust.

“We do leverage AI, and it plays an important role. However, we have to be careful. Simply importing AI solutions developed elsewhere and applying them directly to our markets is not the right approach. I fully agree with my colleague’s earlier point about the need for contextual adaptation. AI has to be fitted to the specific ways people interact with digital systems in our African context,” Gueye advised.

According to Jaffer, the difficulty in building digital ID systems that enable smoother and faster access to government services is huge, but it is possible for countries to keep pace with those expectations by designing better systems which they can continue to upgrade, and ensure data security and privacy.

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GenAI fraud makes zero-knowledge proofs non-negotiable

By Jarek Sygitowicz, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Authologic

By now it’s something of a cliché to say the rapid rise of generative AI has fundamentally changed the threat landscape of the internet.

Nevertheless, it has, and the point bears repeating. Synthetic identities, deepfakes and AI-generated documents are no longer edge cases but the go-to tools of fraud. The more convincing generative models become, the faster they sideline traditional methods of digital verification like uploading photos of IDs, sharing personal data or performing visual checks.

The more data people share, the more material fraudsters have to exploit. Identity verification methods still depend on oversharing. Few flaws are more pressing.

Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) offer a way out of this trap. Instead of asking users to reveal sensitive information to prove eligibility, ZKPs allow them to prove a fact about themselves without disclosing the underlying data. When AI can fabricate a face or a document, a photo becomes largely useless as a verification method.

More than that, ZKPs limit data exposure. Once viewed as a privacy improvement, data minimisation is now a security imperative.

Oversharing as a systemic vulnerability

Most online verification flows today unintentionally collect hordes of unnecessary information. Age checks often require a full photo of a government-issued ID, collecting addresses, height and weight, and eye color in the process. Address verification exposes home locations. Identity checks routinely capture names, document numbers, and biometric images, all stored beyond the reach and control of the end user.

When fraud required human effort and manual forgery, this model provided adequate protection. GenAI has made this model dangerously outdated almost overnight. A single leaked ID image can be reused and altered at scale. AI systems trained on real documents can generate convincing counterfeits that outpace any human review process.

The more data a platform collects in the name of safety and compliance, the larger its attack surface becomes. This paradoxical situation is begging to be fixed.

Provable facts are the new identity

Zero-knowledge proofs flip the logic of verification. Instead of asking “Who are you?” they ask “Is the specific claim you are making true?”

Wallets with zero-knowledge technology provide cryptographic answers to simple yes-no questions like ‘Does this person live in the UK?’ or ‘Is this person over 18?’ No exact birthdate or address is given; no document image changes hands. The verifier learns only what it needs to know.

Apple, Samsung and Google wallets now verify age or identity attributes via mobile driver’s licenses (MDLs) and digital IDs. The increasingly widespread use of MDLs, already live in 20 U.S. states, is evidence this approach is moving from theory into practice. A user authenticates locally, often with biometric verification like Face ID and the wallet generates a proof that satisfies the request. The relying party never views the underlying credential.

Even GenAI has its limits. It can indeed forge an image, but it can’t fabricate a cryptographic proof tied to a government-issued credential without access to the wallet itself.

How Spain’s age verification laws could popularise ZK proofs

ZK-based verification introduces a different compliance model that reduces liability, which may prove critical as more age verification laws come into effect. Earlier in February, the Spanish government publicly announced plans for a nationwide ban on social media for children under 16. Enforcing it would require digital verification checks.

Using ZK proofs, adults in Spain could access social media sites without uploading any real data to a given platform. Since it never receives the full identity data, that platform cannot leak it or fail to protect it. A hacker can’t access actual personal data, just a useless set of binary confirmations. Verification, long an extended data custody problem, is now a momentary cryptographic interaction.

In and beyond Spain, age verification can and should rely on ZK proofs. Asking users (especially minors) to upload identity documents creates serious ethical and security risks. Proving age without revealing identity resolves this tension.

For the first time in digital history, trust online depends less on visual evidence and more on cryptographic certainty. Photos, videos and documents are becoming unreliable signals in the age of GenAI. No more holding up three fingers and nodding your head for a live selfie. Verifiable credentials and zero-knowledge proofs are becoming the new anchors of trust. The days of this technology being treated like a niche cryptographic concept are over. A truly secure and modern verification system asks better questions to get only the answers it needs. No more and, crucially, no less.

About the author

Jarek Sygitowicz is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Authologic, the full-stack global e-ID hub for industries reliant on KYC and AML processes. In 2013 he co-founded ZenCard, which allowed businesses to offer loyalty and rewards programs to customers using their existing payment cards. The company was acquired in 2017 by PKO BP, one of the largest banks in Poland. A longtime entrepreneur, he now serves as co-founder of Authologic, where he oversees strategy, client relations, design, and UX.