For hundreds of millions of people forced from their homes, the barrier to rebuilding a life isn't just poverty or conflict, it's the inability to prove their identities in a way that government and banking systems recognize. In this episode, Colin Walsh, founder of Civitas ID, explains why identity is the foundational problem of forced displacement, and what it will take to solve it.
Through US nonprofit Civitas and its partner public benefit corporation Etymos, Colin and his team are building the credential infrastructure that makes it both technically viable and commercially attractive to connect displaced people to the banks, employers, and service providers they need access to. It's an approach grounded in direct engagement with displaced communities, and in the conviction that technology works best when it's backed by advocacy and policy reform.
The conversation explores what that looks like in practice: the lessons from running pilots in Kenya and Colombia, the contrast between how each market is moving, and why genuine listening, alongside direct engagement with displaced communities, has shaped Civitas's approach.
Supported by Norman Broadbent: https://www.normanbroadbent.com/
Colin Walsh