Long Beach (CoinChapter): CEO of Input Output Global Charles Hoskinson seemed to hint at a major announcement coming up. Hoskinson’s tweet appears to imply that the ‘Africa Special’ deal has been signed by the Ethiopian Government.
Hoskinson tweeted a picture puzzle that when decoded, appears to suggest that the Ethiopian government was ready to use the Cardano blockchain. There were two photos in the tweet. One showed a white-cheeked Turaco bird with an Ethiopian origin. The other was an image of John Hancock, known for his large signature on the Declaration of Independence.
Additionally, the tweet read “For some reason, I have this strong desire to tweet these two pictures. Must be the blending of my ornithological endeavors with my love of 18th century American history….”
Previously, Hoskinson said that they had sent the deal to Ethiopia for an official signature from the country’s Minister. According to a report, Ethiopia’s “special committee” had also signed the deal on March 25 excluding that of the minister. Now the Cardano community must simply wait for the official announcement that the deal is done. Hoskinson had previously said that the announcement would come in April.
Hoskinson: Last mile for Cardano Blockchain Powering Ethiopian ID system
There was hope that the deal would be able to be announced in March, but bureaucratic hurdles reportedly delayed that. “So now, it goes straight to the minister to sign. That’s the last mile,” Hoskinson said. “We got to a point where we are very confident because everyone wanted the deal to go through, and there is no one else involved in it.
So we said, setting bureaucracy aside, let’s start scaling and building and…but all that is bundled together with the Africa special.”
The Cardano blockchain could potentially power the Ethiopian national citizen identification system, among other things. This new electronic system seeks to identify every citizen and resident in Ethiopia reliably.
This new development comes after Cardano announced it had achieved 100% decentralization for block production. The company has long had eyes on African, wanting to enhance financial inclusion throughout the continent.
The Cardano team is also exploring expansion into other African countries and have plans on setting up a lab. IOG plans to invest $10 to $20 million annually for strategic investments in infrastructure, training, and project development.
