Altron Security has completed a key milestone on Zambia’s national digital identity infrastructure, having won the contract three years ago to build the national public key infrastructure, or PKI, for the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority. The milestone was announced on 7 September.
A national PKI functions much like a passport office for the internet: it is the cryptographic system that verifies individuals, businesses and government websites are genuinely who they claim to be, and protects documents against tampering and forgery. Altron describes it as the national trust foundation on which Zambia can now build digital identity, electronic signatures and secure online government services, allowing citizens to sign contracts, submit licence applications or file land records online rather than through physical courier and in-person filing.
Altron Security managing director Andrew Whittaker said the company’s ambition is to build similar systems for multiple countries across Africa, with Zambia the first, arguing that governments need this underlying plumbing before citizens or businesses will trust e-government services.
The business carries some pedigree for the task: it was formed by combining Ubusha Technologies, bought for R360 million in 2020, and LAWtrust, bought for R245 million in 2021, and has run South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs smart ID programme for 13 years.
| Country | PKI milestone | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Smart ID programme with Department of Home Affairs | Ongoing, 13 years |
| Côte d’Ivoire | National PKI launched | July 2026 |
| Namibia | National PKI trust framework established | September 2026 |
| Zambia | National PKI built by Altron Security | Announced September 2026 |
Zambia joins a fast-growing list of African countries establishing this kind of trust infrastructure. Côte d’Ivoire launched its national PKI in July and Namibia followed in September, while the Africa PKI Consortium is working to align these frameworks so that national systems recognise one another across borders, a goal often framed in policy circles around digital sovereignty rather than simply convenience.
The scale of the opportunity behind these rollouts is considerable. World Bank data show roughly 2.8 billion people worldwide still lack access to a government-recognised digital ID, even as the number with no legal identity at all fell to 800 million in 2025, from 850 million in 2021. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for more than half that global total, with over 400 million people lacking formal identity documents and coverage in Eastern and Middle Africa stuck near 41%, the slowest-improving region globally. As of 2024, only four African countries, Benin, Cabo Verde, Mauritius and Uganda, had fully operational government digital ID systems, underlining how much runway remains for projects like Zambia’s.
Building the infrastructure is, however, only half the challenge. The World Bank’s research points to a persistent usage gap: in Vietnam, for instance, more than 70% of adults now hold a digital ID, yet fewer than 20% have ever used it. New gender gaps are also emerging in some countries’ digital ID adoption, often linked to lower smartphone ownership and digital literacy among women, a risk factor Zambia’s rollout will need to manage if the system is to be widely used rather than merely built.
The contract also lands at a useful moment for Altron’s broader business. Parent group Altron reported group revenue of R9.6 billion for the 2026 financial year, up 1%, with operating profit climbing 25% to R1.2 billion and headline earnings per share up 34% to 239 cents, supported by a R500 million special dividend. Altron Security itself grew more modestly within the group, with revenue up 4% to R411 million and operating profit up 5% to R90 million, with annuity-based digital signing platforms already making up 80% of its revenue, trailing stronger segments such as Altron FinTech, which posted R561 million in operating profit, up 33%. A successful pan-African PKI push could give this smaller segment a considerably larger growth lane.