Case Study: Kiva achieves Africa’s first national decentralized ID and instant eKYC with Hyperledger Indy

Kiva launches Africa’s first national decentralized ID system with Hyperledger Indy

Kiva, a U.S. non‑profit focused on financial inclusion, confronted the widespread problem that many people remain unbanked because they lack verifiable digital identity and their informal credit histories are invisible to formal financial institutions. To address fast, cheap, and secure eKYC at national scale, Kiva partnered with Hyperledger and built Kiva Protocol using Hyperledger Indy (with Aries and Ursa) as the identity platform.

Using Hyperledger Indy, Kiva implemented the National Digital Identity Platform in Sierra Leone (launched 2019), creating Africa’s first decentralized national ID system and enabling live eKYC in about 11 seconds using only a national ID number and a fingerprint. Hyperledger’s technology made verification interoperable and scalable, letting citizens open bank accounts, bringing informal-sector data into the formal financial system, and positioning the solution for rollout to other countries.

Kiva

Matthew Davie

Chief Strategy Officer