The YuTru Project Journey
The YuTru project was first initiated on July 26, 2018. It was undertaken to address a global digital transformation need to digitally recognise citizens. In Papua New Guinea, many were unaware of the need to be digitally recognised and participate in the global economy.
Due to the lack of regulations at that time, the project started as a Digital Identity Trust Framework called the YuTru Scheme. The YuTru Scheme was designed to allow easy identification and verification of customers in the financial sector. The financial sector, however, had yet to adopt the electronic knowing your customer (eKYC) concept, and YuTru moved quickly to provide a seamless and secure means of digital identification and verification for other YuTru Scheme participants who required it at no cost to the subscribers.
From an Australian Government-funded project to a privately held company that is locally owned and operated, Digital Identification Bureau Ltd.(DIBL t/a YuTru) was established in 2019 to implement this private sector-led, digital trust framework initiative. As part of the DFAT-sponsored project, several training sessions were held with various groups to introduce and socialise the concept of the technology.
Since then, the DIBL team has been marketing and promoting on various channels and forums, the benefits of implementing a digital ID solution (such as the YuTru Digital ID), a foundational piece for all digital transformation initiatives. YuTru’s (and other potential IDaaS providers’) biggest challenge has been the lack of an overarching legislation around digital identity and its adoption and usage within Papua New Guinea’s economy. In support of our aim to keep up with standards, we have been maintaining constant collaboration with Kantara Initiative, an international and independent certifier of digital ID technology platforms, ensuring the YuTru Trust Framework (YuTru Scheme) is up to date with internationally accepted standards on all aspects of implementing a digital ID solution.
To realise the adoption and use of a truly unique, secure and trusted Digital Identity solution in Papua New Guinea’s digital economy, we call for better collaboration from all stakeholders, including regulators and institutions who are custodians of citizen’s data. YuTru is here to partner and move things forward.