On Tuesday (April 27), blockchain research and development firm Input Output Global (IOG) — formerly known as IOHK — announced a partnership with the government of Ethiopia.

Although the full details of this partnership are due to be announced on Thursday (April 29), IOG said in a Twitter thread posted earlier today that it could not wait till then to let the world know that it is partnering with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education to create a Cardano-powered “national ID and attainment recording system.”

Cardano’s development company also said:

  • “Based on Atala PRISM, the ID will allow the creation of secure records of educational performance for3.5k schools, 5M students and 750k teachers, giving all pupils verifiable digital qualifications, increasing social mobility and allowing lesson planning and attainment monitoring.“
  • “This partnership is at the heart of Ethiopia’s Digital Transformation Strategy. IOHK has long recognized how developing world countries could uniquely benefit from blockchain, and this deployment is key in our vision for Africa.“

Curtis Thayer, Head of Sales at blockchain consultancy firm EMURGO, had this to say:

According to a report by CityAM, “the aim is to give all students blockchain-verified digital qualifications that reduce fraudulent university and job applications and increase social mobility by allowing potential employers to verify all grades without third-party agencies.”

This report went on to say:

“Ethiopia’s government is also issuing all teachers and pupils with tablets and a dedicated internet network giving all students instant access to their academic records, opening up higher education and employment for the 80 per cent of students who live in rural regions.

“Student IDs will also be paired with data from Learning Management Systems and harnessed by machine learning algorithms to drive personalised teaching, a dynamic curriculum, and data-driven policies and funding.

Crypto analyst Mati Greenspan called this partnership “a huge win for Cardano.”

Featured Image by “PeterW1950” via Pixabay.com