Algorand Will Launch FlexID’s New Self Sovereign Identify Platform

May 27, 2022 10:10 am Comments

Although most of the focus these days in on the potential value of digital assets, FlexID is a startup that is looking to use blockchain to provide a new identity system in Africa.

Essentially, it will be providing trusted records of identities without the need to have a centralize authority entity involved in issuing that identity.

This new innovative idea is made by Algorand’s funding into the startup where the investment size has remained private and undisclosed to the public.

As a result, the Algorand blockchain may become a network that supports a new innovative use case that may have massive market potential for those in emerging countries.

TechCrunch reports:

One of the startups working towards this vision is Zimbabwe’s FlexID, which is building a blockchain-based identity system for those excluded from the banking system due to their lack of identity documents.

FlexID’s idea has won it funding from Algorand, a blockchain protocol created by Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Mical. The two parties didn’t disclose the size of the investment.

African countries have made great strides in promoting financial inclusion over the past decade, but it’s still early days. More than 60% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa are unbanked, according to World Bank estimates for 2021.

With funding from Algorand, FlexID aims to make its decentralized identity network available in emerging markets where over one billion people are estimated to lack formal identification, the startup said in an announcement.

Zimbabwean serial entrepreneur Victor Mapunga founded FlexID in 2018 out of his frustration with the banking system.

If this new test of this new idea, it could potentially set the stage for Algorand to get involved in supporting more identity systems around the world that do not depend on a government entity.

How FlexID works is that it gives a blockchain wallets for users to store their verifiable identity and all the verification is done on the Algorand network.

Algorand was chosen as an ideal choice for such a use case due to its focus on security, scalability, and decentralization which are all essential for making this possible.

Additionally, since the solution is built on top of the Algorand network, FlexID’s solution will also have access to all of Algorand’s decentralized applications.

TechCrunch concludes:

FlexID’s investment from Algorand comes at a time when African blockchain startups are pulling in huge sums from investors. A recent report said over 40 African blockchain startups raised a total of $127 million in 2021.

This year has already seen some eye-popping investments such as Mara’s $23 million seed round from investors like crypto exchange giants Coinbase and FTX.

Though FlexID provides service in the identity space, the overarching sector its solution and most blockchain platforms fall under is fintech.

Companies like FlexID are reducing people’s dependency on cash and remittance fees via crypto, lowering barriers to setting up an account via crypto wallets, and addressing the continent’s documentation challenge.

If this trend takes off, it could mean a very bullish outlook for the future of the Algorand network and its native token ALGO.

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