Every business needs to verify customer identities, especially fintechs. It protects you from fraud and keeps you compliant with regulators across Africa. 
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But choosing the right identity verification solution isn't straightforward. You're comparing pricing models, API capabilities, African market coverage, and integration complexity—all while your engineering team is waiting to build.
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This guide breaks down the leading KYC and identity verification solutions for African businesses. We'll show you what each platform offers so you can make an informed decision faster. This isn't a direct comparison—it's a resource designed to simplify your selection process. 

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6 best KYC providers and identity verification software in Africa

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1. Kora

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After years of processing payments, we realised that some of our merchants required an Identity infrastructure to access some of our products for compliance purposes. To make this easier for them, we built out our KYC and identity verification infrastructure.

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Usually, most African businesses need two separate vendors to get started. First, they integrate an identity verification provider to handle KYC and KYB checks. Then they integrate a payment infrastructure to accept payments and process disbursements. That means two separate integrations, two support teams, two invoices, and double the headaches. Your engineering team spends weeks integrating each system. When something breaks during onboarding or integration, that's double the time wasted on support. Your team also juggles two dashboards and manages data from two different platforms when troubleshooting customer issues.

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For fintechs, neobanks, e-commerce businesses, gaming companies, and digital marketplaces, this fragmented approach isn't just inefficient—it actively slows your growth. That's why we built our Identity product to help businesses manage payments and identity verification in one suite: Kora.

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Everything you need under one suite

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Kora solved this by building identity verification directly into the payment infrastructure. You integrate once and get both automated KYC/KYB verification and complete payment capabilities through a single API.

This isn't a bolt-on feature. Kora Identity is native to the same platform you use for accepting payments, processing payouts, and managing settlements. Same dashboard, same support team, same developer experience.

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The result? Businesses that previously needed 4–8 weeks to integrate separate identity and payment systems are now live in under two weeks. Development costs drop significantly because your team builds one integration instead of two. And when you expand to new African markets, the same API that verifies Nigerian customers also handles South African, Kenyan, and Ghanaian identity verification.

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Automate KYC and KYB verification across four countries

Kora Identity currently supports automated identity verification in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana. Instead of manually reviewing identity documents or building integrations with multiple databases, you verify customers programmatically through Kora's APIs or dashboard. 

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For individual customers (KYC), you can verify:

• Nigeria: Bank Verification Number (BVN), Virtual National Identification Number (vNIN), National Identification Number (NIN), International Passport, Voter's Card, and Phone Number.
• South Africa: South African ID Number (SAID)
• Kenya: National ID Number, International Passport, Phone Number and Tax PIN. 
• Ghana: International Passport, Social Security and National Insurance Trust Number (SSNIT), Ghana Voter's Card (GVC), and Ghanaian Driver's License

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For business customers (KYB) in Nigeria, you can verify:

Company registration numbers through the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) to establish business legitimacy before onboarding them. Instead of manually checking government registries, you automate the entire business verification process through Kora's KYB APIs.

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Comprehensive verification management dashboard

Beyond providing verification APIs, Kora gives you complete oversight of all identity checks through a centralised dashboard. You can see detailed information about each verification: the customer's name as it appears on their ID, verification type, ID type, country, verification status (approved, pending, or rejected), date and time of the verification request, and the ID number verified.

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This visibility means your compliance and operations teams can track KYC/KYB efforts in real-time without manually maintaining spreadsheets or querying databases. When regulators ask for audit trails, you generate reports with a few clicks instead of spending days compiling data from fragmented systems.

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Built for security and reliability

Kora Identity is secured using secret keys that ensure only your systems can access the verification APIs. The platform is designed to handle errors gracefully with built-in retry mechanisms for verification, so temporary issues don't disrupt your customer onboarding flow.

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All verification data is managed through Kora's secure infrastructure with AML/CFT measures to protect your business and help you stay compliant.

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Sandbox testing environment

Before going live with identity verification, you need to test it thoroughly. Kora provides a dedicated sandbox environment where you can test all verification types, API endpoints, and error-handling scenarios without affecting real customer data or incurring verification costs.

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This testing capability helps you build smooth onboarding flows that work reliably from day one. Your developers can identify integration issues, test edge cases, and refine the user experience before customers ever see your verification process.

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Pricing

Kora Identity uses pay-as-you-go pricing. You're charged a flat fee for each successful verification, with the fee varying based on the country and specific ID type you're verifying. There are no setup fees, no monthly minimums, and no charges for failed verification attempts.

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Who uses Kora Identity?

Fintechs and Neobanks
If you’re running a fintech or neobank, you need robust KYC during account opening while maintaining fast, seamless customer experiences. Kora Identity verifies customer identities automatically, so you can onboard new customers as quickly as possible. 

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Lending platforms

As a lending platform, you must verify borrower identities before disbursing loans and need reliable audit trails for regulatory compliance. With Kora, you verify the borrower, disburse the loan with our Payout APIs, and set up automated repayment collections through a single platform.

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Gaming companies
With Identity, gaming companies can stay compliant with Anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing policies. 

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Marketplaces, logistics and e-commerce platforms
For platforms that want to provide virtual bank account services, BNPL services and any type of financial service to their buyers, you’ll need to verify sellers. Kora enables you to verify seller identities so they can deposit funds in their virtual bank account. 

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If your business model requires knowing who your customers are while moving money on their behalf, Kora Identity eliminates the complexity of managing separate identity and payment vendors.

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Supported identity verification methods:

• BVN (Nigeria)
• vNIN (Nigeria)
• NIN (Nigeria)
• International Passports (Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana)
• Voters' Cards (Nigeria, Ghana)
• Phone Number Validation (Nigeria, Kenya)
• South African ID Number
• Kenyan National ID
• Ghanaian Driver's License
• SSNIT (Ghana)
• CAC Business Registration (Nigeria)
• TIN Tax Identification (Nigeria)

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2. Dojah

Dojah is an identity verification platform that serves businesses across Africa with KYC, KYB, AML compliance, and fraud detection tools. The company provides access to government and telecom databases across Nigeria, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Angola, making it possible for businesses to access their tools across these countries. 

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The platform offers multiple verification methods, including government ID verification, biometric authentication using facial recognition (selfies and videos) and fingerprints, liveness detection to prevent spoofing, address verification to capture and validate physical locations, and AML watchlist screening. Dojah's AI-powered technology verifies user identities quickly, with an average verification time of approximately 4 seconds and a 99% first-try verification rate.

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Integration options include no-code tools for businesses that want to get started quickly, as well as APIs for custom implementations. The platform's ID Verification Widget allows businesses to automatically analyse identity documents, detect fraud, and sign up real users with instant feedback during onboarding.

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Dojah serves multiple industries, including financial services, mobility, retail and e-commerce, healthcare, and HR management. Client testimonials come from companies like Vesicash, Baobab, CDcare, Zend Wallet, and Cleva. The platform offers free transaction monitoring for up to 10,000 transactions monthly. Dojah is compliant with the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (2019) and holds ISO 27001, ISO 22301, and ISO 20000 certifications.

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3. QoreID

QoreID is an identity verification platform providing real-time identity checks and KYC automation for businesses. The platform offers access to over 100 million government-approved ID records from databases across Nigeria and beyond.

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The platform's verification capabilities include instant identity verification APIs with one-click access to national identity databases, AI-powered authentication, address verification using a network of over 30,000 agents across Nigeria, and AML screening with PEP watchlist monitoring against more than 1,000 data sources.

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QoreID provides both no-code workflow solutions and full API integrations with SDKs for web and mobile platforms, along with webhook support for real-time data transfer. The platform includes offline verification capabilities to protect businesses from network downtime and end-to-end workflows that streamline integrations.

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Beyond individual verification, QoreID offers Business Verification (KYB) with access to over 100 data points from government sources, including FIRS, CAC, and JTB. The platform includes a Fraud Prevention Engine with ML-backed risk assessment and provides businesses with comprehensive dashboards for insights, reports, and verification management.

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QoreID's VeriFind product provides multi-country address verification. Pricing information is available through direct contact with the sales team.

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4. YouVerify

YouVerify is a Nigerian identity verification company founded that provides KYC, AML screening, and address verification services across Africa. The platform operates through the YouVerify Operating System (yvOS), which provides access to a 300 million+ global government-backed identity database in a single workflow. 

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This allows businesses to perform identity verification, address checks, AML screening, and background verification from one interface. The system includes a no-code drag-and-drop Workflow Builder that lets businesses customise verification flows without technical expertise.

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YouVerify provides identity verification in 200 countries globally, with Nigeria and Ghana among the countries with detailed coverage. The platform's verification capabilities include government ID verification, biometric authentication with liveness detection, address verification, phone intelligence, bank account verification, and AML screening against global sanctions and PEP lists.

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Beyond basic KYC, YouVerify provides continuous risk monitoring through its Risk Intelligence solution, which offers on-demand customer risk assessment with customizable alerts and reporting. The platform also offers transaction monitoring to identify potentially fraudulent activities using AI-powered rules and real-time screening.

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For businesses, YouVerify offers KYB verification that screens company registries, business addresses, and ultimate beneficial owners. The platform also provides Know Your Employee (KYE) services for HR and recruitment teams with tools to verify employment history, academic credentials, professional certificates, and references.

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YouVerify charges on a per-verification basis, with pricing varying by country and ID type. The platform integrates via plug-and-play SDKs or API with 99.9% uptime.

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5. Smile ID

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Smile Id is a pan-African identity verification provider that supports KYC and AML compliance across all 54 African countries. The platform verifies over 8,500 document types from 226 countries globally, with 96% OCR accuracy, with particular strength in African identity documents. Smile Identity's facial recognition technology achieves a 99.8% accuracy rate across all skin tones and uses SmartSelfie™ technology with six AI-powered anti-spoof models for liveness detection. 

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The platform processes over 2.8 million identity checks monthly. Core products include Enhanced Document Verification, which authenticates ID documents and matches selfies to document photos; Biometric KYC, which verifies customer information against government databases in over 15 African countries; SmartSelfie Authentication for secure logins and transaction authorisations; and Smile Secure for duplicate account prevention using facial biometrics. 

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Additional verification services include Bank Account Verification, Phone Number Verification, and Business Verification (KYB). The platform also offers AML screening against over 1,100 global sanctions, PEP watchlists covering 1.5 million individuals, and adverse media from 170,000+ news sources. Smile Identity optimises for African conditions, supporting low-bandwidth environments and older devices, including those running Android 5.0.

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The company maintains on-ground offices in West, East, and Southern Africa and works directly with government agencies to stay updated on regulatory requirements. Clients include major African companies like Flutterwave (which reduced fraudulent sign-ups by up to 90% using Smile ID), Paystack, Kuda, Binance, Stanbic IBTC, and Yellow Card.

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The platform operates on pay-as-you-go pricing with flexible plans for startups and enterprise options. Smile Identity holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 certifications, with its ISO/IEC 30107-3:2023 Level 2 certification achieving a 0% biometric facial attack penetration rating.

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6. Sumsub

Sumsub is a global identity verification platform that operates across 220+ countries and territories, including African markets like Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana. The company verifies over 14,000 document types and serves more than 4,000 clients globally across fintech, crypto, gaming, and e-commerce sectors.

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The platform combines traditional document-based verification with Non-Documentary (Non-Doc) Verification, which allows businesses to verify identities using government database lookups without requiring physical documents. According to an independent audit by FINTRAIL, Sumsub's Non-Doc solution meets regulatory requirements in 18 jurisdictions, including Nigeria and South Africa.

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Sumsub's verification suite includes document authentication using AI and OCR technology; liveness detection certified for catching presentation attacks and deepfakes; biometric verification with face matching; AML screening against global watchlists, including OFAC, UN, and EU databases; and transaction monitoring for fraud prevention. The platform features a no-code Workflow Builder that allows businesses to create custom verification flows, along with Device Intelligence for real-time fraud detection, Risk Scoring for automated assessments, and a unified Case Management system for compliance teams.

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For African markets specifically, Sumsub launched Non-Doc Verification in December 2023, enabling businesses to reach over 350 million potential users. The solution achieves verification in 4.5 seconds, with clients reporting pass rates of 96.5% on average—a 44% increase compared to document-based methods. 

Check Sumsub's pricing on their page. Sumsub holds SOC 2, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS certifications.

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Why should you choose Kora as an Identity infrastructure?

What makes Kora stand out is that, in addition to the payment infrastructure it provides, you can also access the Identity verification tools you need to verify customers and prevent fraud.

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Therefore, Kora is most suitable for businesses that want to save time and resources by accessing their payment and Identity APIs in one place.

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Really, all you need to do is one major integration and onboarding on Kora, and you get access to all the APIs you need. You can onboard different teams, control various levels of access, and manage your entire operations from one place. 

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Worried about security? Kora was built with a security-first approach. This means you have numerous security tools to help protect your business from external and internal bad actors who may be on your team. This prevents unauthorised access and fraud. 

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