Iris ID, a global provider of iris recognition technology, has partnered with Africa’s leading manufacturing conglomerate, Dangote Group, to provide a time and attendance solution for more than 30,000 employees working at Dangote Cement manufacturing plants in five countries.
The Dangote Group is a Nigerian multinational industrial conglomerate, founded by Aliko Dangote. It is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent. The group employs about 35,000 people, generating revenue in excess of US$4.1 billion in 2017.
Contactless facial recognition system
Prasanna Burri, group chief Information officer, Dangote, Group, said the company wanted a biometric solution that provided greater accuracy than a facial recognition system previously used at the company’s cement manufacturing plants in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Congo. The new system also had to be contactless to reduce the chances of spreading colds, flu and other diseases.
The Iris ID readers provide us with a secure time and attendance solution"
“Iris-based technology is not only contactless and more accurate but also faster than our previous system,” he said. “The Iris ID readers provide us with a secure time and attendance solution, deployed in Dangote Group’s public cloud that integrates seamlessly with the enterprise resource planning system at our Nigerian headquarters.”
Early success
Burri said the system’s early success has Dangote considering expanding it to more of its African operations.
Mohammed Murad, vice president global sales and business development, Iris ID, said the iris-based solution was ideal for use in the Dangote cement manufacturing operations. “Our contactless readers work well in a dusty environment and are unaffected by employees wearing safety glasses and other protective gear,” he said. “Dangote is the largest indigenous industrial conglomerate in sub-Saharan Africa, helping to drive the continent’s growth. We’re happy to play a part.”
Time and attendance system
Initial installation of the time and attendance system was completed by Maxut Consulting Ltd. Of Lagos, Nigeria. Iris ID technology is used in several African nations providing identity authentication for national ID, voter registration and other public and private programs.
