Building a regional, open-source digital identity broker to enable cross‑border digital services in Latin America and the Caribbean
1- What is the LAC Digital Citizen?
Funded by Co-Develop, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and the World Bank (WB), the LAC Digital Citizen is a regional initiative to build an open-source digital identity broker for Latin America and the Caribbean. Coordinated by RedGeALC, the initiative aims to enable the mutual recognition of electronic IDs (eIDs) across the region.
This initiative envisions a more integrated and digitally inclusive region, where citizens and businesses can use their own national digital IDs to access digital public services in any participating country.
2- What does the initiative offer?
Managed by the Regional Digital Citizen Consortium (RedGeALC, IADB, the World Bank, and Co-Develop, a fund for digital public infrastructure), the initiative convenes governments to develop the regional digital identity broker. This broker will rely on federated authentication, open standards, and a regional trust framework. It will ensure privacy and data protection while simplifying technical integration. The broker will build on successful interoperability pilots led by Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, enabling use cases in migration, trade, education, health, and tax administration. The initiative also provides targeted technical support to countries that are less advanced in their digital identity journey.
3- How do governments participate?
Participation is open to all governments in the region. Digital authorities of member states of the Organization of American States have been invited to express interest. To join, national-level digital government authorities must email a commitment letter signed by the head of the relevant agency, secretariat, or ministry to [email protected] and designate a focal point to participate in the technical working groups.
The initiative was launched in Washington, D.C., on April 21, 2025, during the World Bank Spring Meetings. The first cohort of countries, which submitted commitment letters by May 6, includes Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. The second cohort, with a June 6 deadline, includes Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. The third cohort, closing on July 19, adds Ecuador, Colombia, and Guatemala. The call for the fourth and final cohort closed on November 30, 2025. A workshop has already been organized with the first and second cohorts to formally launch the initiative and review the work plan, schedule, and conceptual aspects.
This partnership among Co-Develop, the IADB, the World Bank, and RedGeALC reflects a shared commitment to country-led, demand-driven digital public infrastructure that is secure, inclusive, and scalable, as well as to supporting eID use cases across the region.
