Ethiopia Launches Multiple ID Systems
Charles Hoskinson, the founder of the Cardano network, responded to critics within the crypto community who suggested that the national ID deal between the blockchain and the Ethiopian government in 2021 had been abandoned.
These critics claimed that the government chose to develop its digital ID system because it had become exasperated with the slow pace of Cardano's development team, Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK). Hoskinson refuted these allegations, stating that the Ethiopian government is presently utilizing the Cardano ID solution.
Hoskinson acknowledged that Ethiopia currently has multiple ID systems in place, but he clarified that the agreement was with the Ministry of Education (MoE), which was never intended to serve as a nation-wide ID system. Instead, it was a credential management system specifically developed for students, not a comprehensive identification system for an entire nation.
Hoskinson also mentioned that while the student ID system was not initially designed to be a comprehensive identification management system, it could potentially be expanded in the future. Furthermore, Hoskinson noted that the system is currently active and expected to cover one million students by the end of 2023.
The original plan was to cover five million students by the end of 2021, but progress was delayed due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, as per the Cardano founder. It is worth noting that the deal between Cardano's parent company and the Ethiopian government is known as 'Atala PRISM.' This initiative employs Cardano blockchain technology to provide secure and tamper-proof identification for individuals and assist with other social and economic activities such as voting and banking.
Sources:
https://dailycoin.com/project-ethiopia-cardanos-charles-hoskinson-cares-about-quality-human-rights/
https://finbold.com/cardano-founder-responds-to-accusations-of-alt-right-association/
https://coinedition.com/ethiopia-id-system-is-live-cardano-founder-responds-to-critics/