Among the first announcement to come out of the long-awaited Cardano Africa Special, Input-Output Global revealed a partnership with World Mobile. The cooperation follows IOG’s global vision in the region and aims to “connect the unconnected”.
Initially, the partners will focus their efforts on Zanzibar and greater Tanzania. They will use a unique approach to provide an internet connection to people in the region with renewable energy. Based on the IOG Atala PRISM solution, the partners will build a network node on top of Cardano’s blockchain infrastructure.
The network will be leveraged by business owners and will operate as local relays to provide “affordable” local internet connection. To access it, users can subscribe via Atala PRISM. Thus, they will gain access to digital banking, healthcare, and essential services.
The CEO of World Mobile Chain, Micky Watkins, said this cooperation will open a new world for users in the region. In a press release shared with Bitcoinist, Watkins added:
We all live on one planet, but for many years we have neglected a part of it and even call it a third world. Word Mobile has built a network based on a new relationship between people and connectivity in which ownership, governance, and identity work to empower the user and make access available to all in a sustainable way.
Cardano Could Connect 700 Million People In Africa
The partnership has set the goal of bringing thousands of clients by Q1, 2022. However, their ultimate goal is to connect more than half of the population to vital services, such as education, banking and finances, healthcare, and others.
A few days ago, IOG and the Ethiopian government announced a partnership to implement Atala PRISM as part of their digital strategy. Ethiopia will use Cardano in an attempt to overhaul its education system. Thus, more than 5 million students, including 750,000 teachers, in 3,500 schools will use this solution.
The cooperation will combat academic fraud, but most especially it will allow for millions to receive customize education, access their academic record, and for the government to track and distribute resources with efficiency. In the long term, Ethiopia could approve data-driven education policies.
Both partnerships, with World Mobile and the Ethiopian government, are the result of a five-year effort undertook by IOG. In addition to the cooperation, IOG took a 10% stake in World Mobile Group. Its CEO and inventor of Cardano, Charles Hoskinson, said this is evidence of its long-term commitment to the region. The platform will scale up throughout the entire African country in the next months. Hoskinson added:
We see blockchain as a powerful force for social good. Through our digital ID solution, Atala PRISM, people who were previously unable to verify their identity, complicating and often preventing access to vital services like healthcare will now be able to do so. Atala PRISM will also allow citizens to provide backup copies of important documents like qualifications or property ownership documents, which can allow returning refugees to reclaim their homes.
Hoskinson believes Africa and developing nations will lead blockchain global adoption. His vision is for Cardano to be at the center of this country’s development. So, the platform, its community, and the continent can growth and break the “foundational infrastructure” that has slowed them down. Hoskinson added:
That lack of deeply embedded legacy infrastructure makes transition to blockchain-based infrastructure a relatively low friction process, with the potential for developing countries to ‘leapfrog’ advanced industrialized economies by adopting next-generation infrastructure. After many years of nascent promise, the technology is finally mature enough to get them there.
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