[Editor’s Note 05/05/26: This article has been updated to correct the professional title of Talal Al Ahmad, who serves as Dalil’s CCO.]
Dalil Holding and Abu Dhabi-listed e7 Group PJSC have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on Idenex, a specialized identity management company and subsidiary of Dalil. Under the agreement, e7 will explore a potential strategic investment in Idenex as part of a combined push to establish the company as a UAE-based identity solutions national champion with international reach.
Idenex was set up to export the UAE’s identity and digital government model to global markets, providing scalable digital identity ecosystems for governments and large enterprises. Through the collaboration, Dalil’s technology platforms and intellectual property will be paired with e7’s manufacturing and delivery infrastructure to offer a full identity lifecycle covering enrollment, personalization, credential management, authentication, and ongoing lifecycle services, spanning both digital platforms and secure document issuance.
“Idenex is about taking something the UAE has already done exceptionally well and making it accessible to the rest of the world,” said Talal Al Ahmad, Dalil’s CCO. “The partnership with e7 allows us to move faster, deliver with confidence, and present a model that is not only innovative, but fully operational from day one.” Mohamad Yousef, CEO of Idenex, said the company aims to “expand this success internationally after these systems have proven their efficiency locally,” positioning Emirati technology as “a new global benchmark in digital identity systems.”
Ahmed Al Shamsi, Chairman of e7 Group, said the MoU reflects an intent to strengthen e7’s end-to-end offering by complementing its physical identity capabilities with advanced digital identity platforms. Group CEO Esteban Gomez Nadal framed the collaboration as an accelerated play into what he called “fully integrated ‘phygital’ identity solutions,” combining secure physical credentials with digital identity, authentication, and lifecycle management. For e7, the investment is intended to improve capacity utilization, unlock recurring revenue, and deepen participation in large-scale government identity programs.
e7 Group operates across security printing, identity, packaging, and logistics, with Abu Dhabi manufacturing capacity for 50 million national ID cards and 14 million passports a year. Its identity unit, e7 Security, covers the full identity management lifecycle including enrollment, data preparation, key management, and document personalization.
The investment targets a market shaped by significant policy change. The UAE’s move to replace physical ID cards with facial recognition has been the primary policy driver creating demand for UAE-anchored identity management companies. e7’s home market has been expanding biometric mandates in parallel, including Abu Dhabi’s citywide facial recognition rollout for hotels, and the deal also comes amid the UAE’s deepening biometric investment in travel and payments.
Sources: Zawya, e7 Group, Dalil
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
