Cardano's Great Plans for Africa

New tech has been the source of diverse and distinct solutions across Africa. And currently, IOHK (Input and Output Hong Kong), an engineering and research firm behind Cardano has reported its great plans for Africa.

Tech Start-Ups Are Addressing African Solving Problems

There are currently many futuristic start-ups and tech solutions being developed in Africa, even though naysayers are skeptical that such things can be created from the continent. For instance, M-Pesa has been remarkably revolutionizing mobile banking in Kenya since 2007. M-Pesa allows Kenyans to easily send and receive money, pay utility bills, and carry out other financial transactions at the touch of a button. The service has greatly transformed lives in a country where a majority of the citizens don't own a bank account.

Similar innovations are taking place in different parts of Africa. Currently, South Africa is considering a new hub for new start-ups and tech solutions.

The continent has also demonstrated a great response to cryptos. For instance, in February 2021, Nigeria was reported as the second-largest Bitcoin market in the world second to the United States. The West African country recently launched its digital currency, the eNaira. Despite some regulatory challenges, crypto exchanges such as Luno have been performing excellently and keep thriving each year.

Cardano's Great Plan for Africa

Even though various start-ups have introduced unique solutions to different challenges in the continent, IOHK leads the pack when it comes to blockchain technology outside cryptos, making a greater commitment than any other firm. Recently, the firm released its plan to implement different projects in Africa.

IOHK will be utilizing its blockchain to enhance services in various countries in Africa including Burundi, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

Cardano Enhancing Education in Ethiopia Using Blockchain

IOHK has partnered with the Ethiopian government to enhance the education system in the horn of Africa country. IOHK will be using Cardano's smart contracts to develop a digital identity (DID) system for students. The system will carry all the data for each student's academic achievement throughout their school life.

To achieve this, the firm will be using Atala Prism technology in the Cardano blockchain. Charles Hoskinson, the CEO of IOHK says that the project will enable millions of students to use the infrastructure for voting, payment, and all other activities in their economic life. This implies that the project isn't restricted to their academic life.

How the Project Works

The revolutionary project is designed to monitor each level of a student's academic calendar.

Generally, when a student attains top grades in a specific subject throughout their academic life, they may fail to enroll for their preferred course in the university should they drop in their final exam – previous grades notwithstanding.

Such a scenario can have a devastating impact on the affected student and could likely impact their careers. However, the DID creates an accessible decentralized academic ledger for students free of fabrication and fraud.

According to the Ethiopian education minister and the person in charge of the project, Getahun Mekuria, the digital IDs will enable the country to easily analyze the general academic performance of a student instead of the usual annual national exams. The Ethiopian government is currently implementing the project for 12th-grade students and has plans to expand to other grades henceforth.

As part of the extensive blockchain-based effort, Ethiopia's government education authorities have begun deploying digital identity (ID) for both students and teachers. According to Zelalem Assefa, director of ICT and digital education for the Ministry, data entry is expected to begin in October 2022. A little over 20 public schools have been chosen to participate.

The IDs would be introduced at the elementary, middle, and high school levels before moving on to tertiary institutions. They would be connected to a registry system that would be used to remotely check grades and monitor academic success.

A million IDs should be issued by the end of the year, according to officials. A national digital ID program included in this plan seeks to issue digital IDs to 10 million residents this year. Less than 100,000 IDs have been generated thus far.

Cardano is looking beyond Academics

Cardano's plans for the continent go beyond the education sector. The company has also targeted to revolutionize other sectors including mobile technology and health. For instance, Ask The Doctor, the Canadian digital healthcare startup is planning to switch from Ethereum's blockchain in favor of Cardano.

Simply put, Ask The Doctor is a platform that enables users to earn cryptocurrency by learning about essential healthcare. They can then utilize any amount of cryptocurrency they have acquired to pay for doctor's services or medication. Ask The Doctor is attracted by Cardano's strong presence in Africa.

IOG also actively participated in an $11 million financing round to help the Kenyan fintech business Pezesha.

Cardano's Big Plans in Mobile Technology

IOHK also targets mobile technology in the continent. The firm recently partnered with the World Mobile Group to offer critical services in Ethiopia and Tanzania. The partnership will see the two firms facilitate easy access to sustainable internet in Tanzania through renewable energy. The two firms will collaborate to create affordable network nodes based on the Cardano blockchain infrastructure.

Conclusion

Cardano has outstanding plans for Africa since CEO Hoskinson is convinced the continent has a high demand for new technologies, and so it makes an ideal market for these kinds of innovations. Cardano's plans include creating unique tech solutions in the real estate, voting, health, and education sectors. They also intend to introduce new payment systems, identification systems, advanced ways of trading securities, and many more.