PICTURE WALKING INTO a bank, placing your thumb on a fingerprint reader and drawing cash. Its quick, you don't need to carry a card or remember a pin number. Nobody can pretend to be you, which we all know is a possibility anywhere, given that identity theft is rife.

Although not an entirely futuristic image, the above scenario is one you'd probably only associate with a highly developed financial market, such as the United States or Switzerland. But that's what Nigerians will be able to do from this year after South African company Nirph implemented its identification and anti-fraud systems to help combat fraud at one of the largest banks in Nigeria, starting with a pilot project late last year.

Mr. Edwin Roberts

Roberts is a well-educated, clearly astute businessman and one of those "big thinkers" who advise companies on trends that will affect them and how they should implement plans to grow the business. He's the type who bounces off walls but knows exactly where he's going. And he believes that biometrics will soon take off in a big way, with vast applications that can fundamentally change the way the developing world transacts.

Says Roberts: "I love the fact that it's a technology that can ensure sustainable change - and it comes out of Africa. It really can make a profound difference to socioeconomic change. If you can do it in Nigeria, you can do it anywhere." Applications range from payment systems for the taxi industry to healthcare and disease management, banking, pension and social grants payments.

Roberts says the taxi industry has long grappled with finding a cashless payment system and now the technology has reached the point of becoming cost-effective. In healthcare, imagine emergency services personnel being able to identify accident victims by their fingerprint rather than having to make numerous calls to figure out what healthcare treatment the victim is entitled to, Roberts says. Biometric identification solutions can also help in the management of diseases, including HIV.

Roberts says unlike in some developed countries, such as the US, which use facial recognition software to identify people when they arrive in the country, fingerprint and vein recognition technology is voluntary and gives people back their identity, as nobody can pretend to be them. He calls it a "disruptive technology". And if biometrics is indeed poised to grow rapidly, as Roberts predicts, it should be giving executives at companies in the current card industry sleepless nights.

Roberts isn't the only networked adviser to have recognised the potential of Nirph. In 2005, global network Endeavor - which we have written about previously, which targets helping "high impact entrepreneurs" - also began using the system.

Roberts partnered Nirph to help further develop its solutions, though his company - the Creative Alliance Group - has recently joined forces with FutureWorld to leverage that.

FutureWorld is a global company started by well-known South African author and futurist Wolfgang Grulke with a network of "gurus" - ranging from former Citadel divisional MD Anton Musgrave to former Barloworld CEO Tony Philips. It also has a network of so-called ambassadors or associates from throughout SA's industry, including McCarthy CEO Brand Pretorius and head of global sales at Fundamo (and former CCH CEO) Aletha Ling.

FutureWorld researches significant global trends and helps companies and governments understand the impact those will have. Some themes include global warming, how the on-going digital revolution is shaping the marketing and media industries and how major organisations can ensure sustainable growth through innovation.

Roberts says FutureWorld is different in that it really follows through regarding implementation. Its partnership with Deloitte in SA gives it additional access to a network of experience concerning global matters.

He likens Nirph to Mark Shuttleworth's VeriSign.

Three young techies - Marius Bezuidenhout, Gustav Schoeman and Theunis Botha - started Nirph in their flat. It's been self-funding but is now looking for investors. Roberts says: "There's no real venture capital in SA but we've had discussions with some players in the US and there's been a lot of interest."