Education loan and student ID card

Digital ID verifies student identities and facilitates access to education loans through a national identification number (NIN)-linked biometric Government-to-People (G2P) cards. In March 2025, NIMC (National Identity Management Commission) and the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to roll out multi-purpose biometric student ID cards linked to the NIN. The cards feature multiple wallet capabilities, usable online and offline, with anti-counterfeiting measures that NIMC’s Director-General describes as impossible to forge or fake. Beyond loan disbursement, the biometric cards also enable loan tracking to ensure funds are used for their intended educational purposes and promote transparency and accountability in government-to-student transfers. NELFUND launched its loan portal in May 2024 and has since supported more than 437,000 students. NELFUND sought to register 1.2 million students by the end of 2025 through the NIN-linked student ID card.