Swiss-based WISeKey International Holding Ltd announced its partnership with the Republic of Rwanda in order to establish a Blockchain/IoT Center of Excellence in Rwanda.

The announcement was made during WISeKey’s participation at the Rwanda Investment Board Blockchain event. The proposed Center of Excellence will set up a ‘Trusted Blockchain-as-a-Service’ platform in a move to enable the building of blockchain ecosystem in Rwanda.

In order to establish the blockchain project, WISeKey will be working with blockchain experts in the industry, government, academia to address relevant blockchain opportunity in the business with practical and standard solutions. The project is a part of broader Smart Africa initiative with 17 countries already on board and embracing the 4th Industrial Revolution, the release stated.

“This initiative is in line with President Paul Kagame’s vision to leverage information and communication technologies for transformation and growth while, ensuring wins and gains for citizens. To succeed in making African homes, offices, schools and cities smart, we have to harness opportunities in exponential technologies. These technologies include artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, big data, internet of things (IoT), Blockchain, and 3D printing,” Hon. Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Rwanda’s Minister of Youth & ICT, stated.

The Rwanda Blockchain/IoT Center of Excellence will be conducting research, rapid pilot prototyping, co-creation of use cases and IP creation on blockchain and its platforms. With the center, the country will position itself as a key and active player providing access to policy, technical and business expertise. Also, the Rwanda Center will recommend a National Blockchain Platform in order to facilitate enterprises to quickly adopt blockchain services and solutions.

WISeKey, along with local companies participating at the blockchain center will work on building points of view, proof of concepts, and educational materials across various blockchain schemes with domain specialization that are underpinned by the best underlying technologies from startups, our key partners and from the community.

“Rwanda and its government are to be commended for their vision and action to establish the country as one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. We strongly believe that the Blockchain/IoT Center of Excellence will enable dramatic increases in business volume and efficiencies. Establishing Rwanda as a Blockchain/IoT service hub will provide benefits across many industries and encourage technological developments that can serve the continent,” Carlos Moreira, Founder, and CEO of WISeKey, mentioned.

At the blockchain center in Rwanda, WISeKey will be localizing a WISeID Blockchain. Each WISeID node gets a copy of the WISeID Blockchain and gets downloaded automatically upon joining the WISeID network. With the help of WISeID Blockchain application, users are always in control of their digital identity stored on their mobile device, IoT sensor and/or computer.