Israel’s Pangea wins $70 million contract to provide secured biometric system for issuing Certificates of Integrity in Congo

Pangea IT, a leader in digital transformation for government, public sector, and enterprise organizations, has been awarded a governmental contract valued over $70 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Pangea will develop and operate an advanced criminal biometric system to generate Certificates of Integrity (Certificates of Non-Criminal Record) for Congo’s citizens. The project will be carried out based on a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) basis.

The project follows a decision by Congo's government to promote the digitization of government services in the country. Pangea was awarded the project thanks to its vast and successful experience in implementing biometric and IT systems for governmental agencies in various countries around the world.

As part of the project, Pangea will deploy a centralized Criminal Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) with several biometric features. The system will make it possible to set up nationwide digital database which will include the demographic and biometric details of those offenders currently listed in the archive and will be accessible from 150 police stations across the country. The system will implement 21^st century crime investigation capabilities, based on fingerprints and handprints. Making the information available at a large number of police stations nationwide will make the issuance process much more efficient. Additionally, the process will become easier for both the citizens requesting certificates and for the police stations providing them.

The new police certificate will include various identification features and will be protected by advanced security measures to prevent duplication, counterfeiting and other illegal activities. Currently under consideration by the Congolese Interior Ministry, together with Pangea, is the additional incorporation of encrypted biometric features (photos, fingerprints), which can be viewed through a unique application.

"Digital government services are essential to countries' long-term growth, especially those with tremendous economic potential like Congo DRC," commented Uzy Rozenthal, EVP and GM Government Division at Pangea. "Today, we're able to advance with such a strategic project in a remarkably short period of time and achieve major transformation with solutions that have proven themselves around the world."

Over the past two decades, Pangea has worked with numerous governments to supply digital solutions. The group has established digital population registries, helping the governments provide, for the first time, identity cards, birth and death certificates, passports, visas, driver licenses and other documents. The documents were provided to tens of millions of unregistered residents, who until then could not enjoy government services or even pay taxes.

"We thank the Congolese Government for its confidence in Pangea's technological and operational capabilities and for allowing us to set up this vital project," said Rafi Kaminer, President and CEO of Pangea. "Pangea continues to develop capabilities and innovations in our areas of expertise, including new products for eKYC and Smart Border Control. These capabilities will become unique products in the next few months and generate significant revenue in the next few years."