Electronic-related financial crime is gaining massive ground in the country.
This is anticipated because as technology continues to modernise different operations, crimes like identity theft will also gain traction, reports Vanguard.
Identity theft occurs when someone dubiously gains access to another person’s personal information, like name, national identification number, or debit card details, to perpetrate crime or obtain undue favour.
However, the situation has become a growing concern because apart from corporate organisations whic also suffer huge loss as a result, the most hit are common people and individuals who eke out a living under one of the most horrible economic conditions.
Some reports have revealed that the menace has cost Nigerians over N25.5 billion in just four years.
Breaking it down, a non -governmental organisation, the Anti-Corruption Agencies of Nigeria, said each Nigerian loses the equivalent of N35,000 yearly to financial crimes.
It aggregated the loss to $18 billion when spread across illicit Financial Crimes like bribery, Internet fraud and non-payment of taxes.
In April 2024, Flutterwave was reported to have encountered a security breach on its platform, resulting in the unauthorised transfer of N11bn to multiple accounts. While Flutterwave did not disclose the exact amount, insiders indicated it might be as high as N20bn.
However, a tech company, offering tech solutions that shape digital identity ecosystems, UrbanID is offering bail out option through cutting edge tech solutions.
Founder and CEO of the company, Olatunji Durodola, said for nearly three decades he has made unmatched contributions to the tech industry without making a noise, adding that it is the same method he will use to drastically diminish the identity theft scourge.
“UrbanID is proud to present state-of-the-art digital identity solutions and products for the developing world, with specific emphasis on Africa and South-East Asia, focusing on their unique identity management challenges.
“In a world where a person’s identity needs to be secure, trusted and protected, UrbanID comes with over 30 years of experience in the mobile landscape and bears a passion for solving problems that only Africans know best to resolve. You can count on us to always have a listening ear, be prepared to respect local cultures and norms, as well as local fiat currencies.”
With its footprints well established both directly and through a couple of subsidiaries in countries like the UAE, the UK, Nigeria, Estonia, Rwanda and still counting, UrbanID prides itself as an IT company with a difference, which offers a wide range of exceptional services that cut across various sectors thereby enabling the global economy.
Over the years, the company has committed itself to providing guaranteed world-class digital identity solutions in a disruptive yet highly efficient manner.
It asserts with boldness that, “We are building the technology infrastructure of a robust and disruptive Digital Identity ecosystem for the world across borders with mutual recognition, while offering solutions that are crafted in strict compliance with our mission to empower individuals, strengthen communities, and foster inclusive citizenship services through a secure and innovative digital identity ecosystem.”
In a world where identity theft and protection of data are subjects of immense and intense debates and concern to nations, institutions, security agencies, the financial industry and corporate organisations globally; UrbanID has set for itself the onerous task to ensure that its clients adopt “digitalisation as a process which eliminates the social barriers that prevent complete individual growth and equal participation of all citizens in a country’s political, economic and social structures,” says Mr. Durodola, founder of UrbanID.
Consequently, building technology infrastructure with robust and disruptive Digital Identity ecosystem for the world across borders with mutual recognition, in the thinking of UrbanID, is a bouquet that include:
Identity Management
In nearly three decades of outstanding tech solutions experience, the company has paved the way as a leading provider of most secure and robust identity management solutions to governments, large enterprises and non-profit organisations across regions of the world.
Identity Tokenisation
UrbanID is celebrated for spearheading and creating the unique tokenization tech solution which provides one-of-its kind service that strengthens and enhances the security of end-user data protection and protects personally identifiable information (PII).
Public Key Infrastructure
Perhaps in one area where the company has impacted identity management across emerging economies most is in providing services and expertise in public key infrastructure (PKI) that assist governments secure their information systems, databases and operations. Eliminating the phenomenon of ghost has stood out UrbanID, thus endearing it to governments at both national and sub-national levels.
Identity Verification
Complementary to tackling the issue of ghost workers and other leakages in organisations is the important component of its identity management system suite. UrbanID equally prides itself as an identity verification service provider; and, it offers a wide range of ID verification products, including government-issued ID verification services, etc.
These complex and highly technology-driven suites of ID solutions offered by UrbanID are a sure proof of the tenacity of its founding, a proof of one man’s resilience and years of total commitment to the promotion of best practices in ICT focused on assisting governments secure their most prized asset: the citizens’ identity records and databases.
UrbanID is synonymous with the life-long journey in the world of IT of the highly talented Nigerian, Olatunji Durodola who also founded the company’s subsidiary, CommonIdentity Ltd in Nigeria in 2017 with a clear mandate to serve as an Identity Management Consulting and Software Development firm. In the inner recesses of Olatunji’s mind when he established CommonIdentity, was to assist governments especially in developing economies to scale up and catch up with the advanced economies in identity management. Thus, his company is focused on Digital Identity Solutions for Governments of developing nations with Nigeria as the starting point.
With growth and the need to reach the larger world, in 2021, CommonIdentity Ltd was acquired by UrbanID Global and it currently controls 51 per cent equity stake in the new company. Part of the outcome of the acquisition was to restructure and focus on consumer based Identity Solutions. This narrative was based on the earlier accomplishment of having developed Africa’s first and only MobileID ecosystem with around 20 million downloads, and still counting.
UrbanID subsidiary is a TruID Ltd with focus on Enterprise-based Identity Management solutions. UrbanID holds another 51 per cent stake in this start-up.
Ever eager to exceed clients’ expectations, Durodola speaks of UrbanID’s commitment and mission-critical focus: “Our Patented Tokenisation Technology is being used in the largest Identity Database in Africa, to provide enhanced data protection and privacy to all ID holders. Our passion is to reduce the proliferation of personal data in so many disparate and insecure databases in developing economies.
“To insure this, we use state-of-the-art hardware, hand-picked and custom-built by our engineers and computer scientists, who have decades of experience in Open Source, hardware and bespoke software development solutions.
“From the Graphic Processing Units (GPUs), to the high-performance CPUs, to the highly secure Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), to our optimised custom Linux Kernel, we are very proud of our work to put the developing world in particular at the pinnacle of innovation and creativity.”
In the 80s, Durodola developed the world’s first mobile version of the London Underground Tube Map for the Psion Organiser II. He also collaborated with W & R Chambers to develop the first electronic version of the Official Scrabble Word Dictionary. Similarly, Durodola participated in developing Palmtop work for the Hewlett-Packard Company, in Portland, Oregon, USA. And since 2012, he has been involved in creating some of the most outstanding Identity products for the Nigerian government.
It is not a surprise that Urban ID is a critical success factor in the development of Africa’s best, largest and unarguably, most reliable identity management systems. Assisting the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and seeing the monumental gains the Nigerian state has made in enrolling over 120 million citizens with National Identification Number (NIN), as well as designing the most recent Polycarbonate Card, which manages a robust, easy to use Mobile Digital ID Card are some of Durodola’s accomplishments even as he continues to innovate with a mind-set to evolve and create new tech solutions in the global digital identity space.
