Citizen Experiences with DPI: Kenya’s Digital ID Transition

Dr. Julie Zollmann is a development researcher and consultant based in Nairobi. She studies the ways that ordinary people in the Global South interact with their digitizing world. She is especially interested in how digitization affects livelihoods, healthcare, and citizenship. Her most recent academic work examines several dimensions of job quality—earnings, dignity, and voice—in platform-mediated work with a focus on digital drivers in Kenya. She consults with a range of practitioner agencies on programming aimed at increasing incomes and resilience in Africa. She is the author of Living on Little (Practical Action 2020), based on the Kenya Financial Diaries study. Julie holds a PhD in international relations with a focus on development economics and African studies from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. 

Nanjira Sambuli is a researcher, policy analyst and strategist studying the unfolding, gendered impacts of digitalization/ICT adoption on governance, diplomacy, media, entrepreneurship, and culture, especially in Africa. Nanjira is a Fellow in the Technology and International Affairs Program at The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and a Ford Global Fellow. She is a board member at  Development Gateway and Digital Impact Alliance, a Diplomacy Moderator at the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) and advises the Carnegie Council’s AI and Equality Initiative. Nanjira previously led digital equality advocacy efforts at the World Wide Web Foundation, and worked at iHub Nairobi, where she provided strategic guidance for growth of technology innovation research in the East Africa region. She has also served as a board member at  The New Humanitarian, co-chair of Transform Health, as a Commissioner on the Lancet & Financial Times Governing Health Futures 2030 Commission, as a panel member on the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, and as a deputy on the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel for Women’s Economic Empowerment. 

Catherine (“Cate”) Wanjala is an experienced Research Consultant based in Nairobi, Kenya, with a diverse portfolio that spans various roles and projects within the field of financial inclusion and innovation. Her career includes significant contributions as a research assistant, project manager, and field manager on impactful projects such as the Kenya Financial Diaries, Finance in Displacement (FIND) Kenya, and the Small Firm Diaries. Cate’s extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in qualitative research are pivotal to her role in data analysis, particularly in areas focusing on gender, savings groups, and the cultural dimensions of economic development. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Nairobi.