Nadra's new platform to empower startups, young entrepreneurs

National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) unveiled a new platform “Nishan Pakistan” that will allow entrepreneurs and startups to leverage the authority's digital identity stack for building new services. 

Nadra Chairman Tariq Malik introduced the innovative platform and emphasised the program's key attributes, signifying a digital paradigm shift from organisation-centred to user-centred verification services.

He said that Nadra was showcasing its flagship Nishan platform as a sandbox for businesses. It is designed as an application programming interface (API) stack, enabling private entities to conduct online biometric verification through secure data sharing with Nadra, he added.

Malik further noted that this unprecedented undertaking would unlock a plethora of use cases for businesses, including customer identification through contactless biometric verification. By testing the platform with specific businesses using an open API mechanism, Nadra would explore new ways to create a strong digital ID ecosystem.

He said that the Nishan Pakistan initiative will create new markets within the country. "Prosperity begins to anchor the nation’s economy when we invest in a particular type of innovation – the market creating innovation. This kind of innovation ignites the economic engine of a country, creates jobs and augments profits that fund public services and promote change culture in the society. In essence, these market-creating innovations can ignite the fire and businesses can fan the flame by scaling it up," he added.

Chairman Nadra further remarked that the success of any digital transformation journey hinges on the ability to see the states’ services from the citizens’ eyes instead of the state’s eye. Nadra's people-centric development approach places citizens in the perfect position to drive Pakistan towards becoming a digital nation, closer to its apogee of Digital Pakistan.

Nishan Pakistan initiative is the simulation of an idea that strengthens the social contract between the state and its citizens by introducing a fresh host of authentication services for a previously untapped segment of the growing business fraternity in Pakistan, Malik added.

He lauded the untiring efforts put in by Nadra's technology teams while developing a state-of-the-art and first-of-its-kind online, secure and open digital identity authentication platform of Nishan Pakistan.

An application for using Nishan services can be submitted online following a swift registration process on the Nishan portal. The required documents would include a startup profile, a business case for using digital identity stack usage, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registration, an undertaking, and a scanned copy of the Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) or National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP). Payments can be made online through credit/debit card while the approval process will be completed in 10-15 days.

More details on the platform are available on its website with pricing, FAQS and access to the sandbox.