Thousands of researchers and students in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Togo will soon access thousands of academic digital resources worldwide thanks to their country’s identity federations joining eduGAIN. The admission of GARNET Identity Federation (GIF), Burkina Faso Identity Federation (eduID.bf), and eduID.tg (Togo) brings the number of federations joining eduGAIN from the WACREN region to four – the first being the Eko-Konnect identity federation. NgREN is also building on efforts to join eduGAIN. The admission of the Identity Federations (IdFs) is welcome news in the WACREN region, where much of the progress on identity and access management has been anchored by eduID.africa, a member of eduGAIN. The three regional RENs designed eduID. Africa at a time when many NRENs and institutions did not have their own frameworks to access global academic resources. eduID. Africa now has 13 Service Providers (SPs) and five Identity Providers (IdPs). Joining eduGAIN will enhance collaboration with global research and education communities, simplifying access to international services and resources. It will empower Ghanaian institutions to collaborate more effectively with their peers worldwide. It will also break down technical and logistical barriers that have long limited access to global research infrastructure. Similarly, in Burkina Faso, this milestone will accelerate the country’s integration into the global research ecosystem. Students and researchers in the West African nation will now experience smoother access to international academic services and resources. eduGAIN membership is a strategic achievement for the TogoRER federation and a significant enabler of digital transformation in Togo’s higher education and research institutions. Including the three federations in eduGAIN reflects the growing capacity and readiness of NRENs in West Africa to support trusted access to digital services globally.
