Cryptocurrency: Schools, transport, health, agriculture … many sectors in Ethiopia will benefit from the benefits of Blockchain.
The Blockchain and the Cardano cryptocurrency, which competes with Ethereum in exchanges and the creation of decentralized projects, will contribute to the digital development of a State . Ethiopia has just confirmed that an agreement has been made between its government and the IOHK company.
Created in 2015, IOHK invested in cryptography and launched its own Blockchain known from its digital token “Cardano”. While Bitcoin and Ethereum have seen their respective prices explode and institutions are taking an interest in them, Cardano like other altcoins and blockchain like Stellar are looking to attract public players in addition to industrial adoption.
In Ethiopia, this new contract signed will mark a symbolic application. The government intends to rely on Cardano for its digitization plan, “a vast project in which the government is committed” commented our colleagues from Digital Business Africa . By 2025, the country intends to transform several sectors including education, health, transport and agriculture.
In a statement, IOHK said: “We have long realized that developing countries could particularly benefit from blockchain technology, thanks to the lack of integrated and established digital systems, but also because blockchains are less expensive than infrastructure. heavier. “
The Ethiopian Minister of Education said that if #Cardano succeeds in the education area it can succeed in other industries. Ethiopia will probably use Cardano for other services in the country. pic.twitter.com/VMxONCwdwW
— Cardanians.io (🏊 stake with us 👉 CRDN3 or CRDN2) (@Cardanians_io) April 29, 2021
Ethiopia is closely followed by Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, who have also indicated their intention to adopt blockchain to carry out their digitization projects. But Ethiopia presents itself perhaps as the biggest digital challenge of the four, with only 15% of the population with internet access, a rural predominance as well as a rebel occupation in the north of the country (Tigray region). .
Cardano for 5 million students
On the educational side, no less than 3,500 schools, 5 million students and 750,000 teachers are concerned and could soon use services developed on Cardano. “Making blockchain with IOHK is like a dream come true, ” Ethiopian Education Minister Getahun Mekuria commented.
The infrastructure in the making will create a national identity network to track the progress of each student. These sessions can be linked to tools accessible on digital tablets. The government is counting on investment making it possible to equip the 3,500 schools concerned with a quality Internet network.
However, the government did not want to specify the amount of the investment or that of the specific contract with IOHK. To counteract the unequal ownership of smartphones and computers by students, NFC smart cards should be deployed, to allow everyone to be able to show their file including their dematerialized diploma.
“I studied at Oxford and was intrigued that there were no Ethiopian students. When I asked about it, I was told that [the university] does not recognize their titles. They don’t have enough information about what is going on in Ethiopian universities, ” said John O’Connor, IOHK Africa Director of Operations.
