Commitment to Action
WISeKey is committed to providing the necessary identity management and transaction
platform to enable a new approach of cash flow management to reduce operations costs,
intermediaries and other sources which result in the loss of aid, remittances and
micro-credit initiatives, as well as to increase the awareness and control capability
of those providing the funds. WISeKey and the OISTE Foundation developed for this
commitment the NETeID Social Network. The NETeID System was designed as a set of
online tools intended to empower poor and excluded people around the world to access
via their digital identities different sources of assistances and interventions.
The system is designed to constitute a global social network that pulls data from
all tools into one easy-to-manage web interface which will include a combination
of digital identity, security, privacy, web access, blogging and remittances services.
Enabling the poor to access the NETeID Social Network may bring them information
and services to empower them to become confident, productive members of a healthy
society.
WISeKey, in cooperation with the International Organization for Secure Transactions
Foundation (OISTE.org), will be providing a Digital Identification Infrastructure
designed to support a network of 20,000 Identification Authorities worldwide with
the objective to issue a billion digital identities. Each of these 20,000 Identification
Authorities operating from 189 countries will be authorized to issue Digital Identities
locally.
Background
I. During the 2006 World Summit on the Information Society, WISeKey, with partner
Microsoft, worked to expand the use of Digital Identification with the aim of increasing
digital connectivity and secure transaction services. The partners aim to include
1 billion users by 2015.
II. In response to the loss of funds from donors to intended recipients due to intermediaries
and the lack of a secured electronic transaction system, the creation of a Digital
Committed Aid Check (DCAC) allows the funds provider to have its donation go toward
a pre-stated and specific purpose. If the conditions of the donation are not fulfilled
(project start, specific recipient, etc.) the fund provider has the ability to cancel
the check at any of its different states: requested, issued, assigned and cashed.
Otherwise, the check can be cashed when the stated conditions have been met. This
scenario is also appropriate when a direct trust is established, as in the case
of remittance where few or zero intermediaries exist.
It should be noted that the objective is not to radically change the global aid
framework, as the current structure of a " two way street" between the fund consolidators
on one side and the funds distributors on the other, is still useful and relevant.
The local funds collectors, NGOs and governments do play an important role, notably
for the pre-approval, post-control, consolidation and assignment phases.
III. The NETeID system was designed as a Social Network tool that allows for citizen
worldwide to connect with one another, and to different sources of interventions.
With few exceptions, the scope of the interventions is defined at three levels:
local, national and global. At the local level (the village, district, or in some
cases the urban level) the NETeID system will provide citizens holding a digital
identification with information about, for instance, basic social services, such
as financial aid, health and education. At the national level the Digital Identification
will bring the citizens more complex Web Services that carry information about jobs,
investment opportunities or goods and services. Finally, at the broadest level,
the NETeID System will inter connect to the global information infrastructure provided
by agencies providing poverty alleviation services and will federate participating
agencies into a global Federated System using Single Sign On technologies to allow
citizens to access all these services from a single entry point via a Generic Poverty
Alleviation Portal. Each higher level usually includes elements of the preceding
levels.
The NETeID is designed in a way that handles all types of interventions simultaneously
via a dashboard, with those that directly benefit the poor coming in first. This
usually happens at the local level and the impact is always more visible. The NETeID
system also considers a broader definition of poverty, where poverty is also defined
as being deprived of the information and basic services needed to participate in
the 'global' society. WISekey and OISTE are working with International Organizations,
such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs that have been
implementing these services. The NETeID system also processes indirect intervention
where the benefits of Digital Identification and remittances are felt upstream from
the poor, but may trickle down through the social-economic fabric. The third type
of intervention is using Digital Identities and related Citizen Portals in support
of poverty reduction mechanisms and related development projects. Crosscutting areas
in poverty management can be greatly aided by introducing the type of technology
available at the NETeID system.
Metrics:
The success of the project will be measured by the number of eID's issued by the
pre-determined identification authorities, and the amount of funds transmitted using
this new technological platform.
Partnership Opportunities
WiseKey is seeking an additional $40 million to move into the transactional phase
of this commitment.
They are also seeking to partner with IT and Financial companies which would allow
them to expand the number of services attached to eIDs.
Point of Contact
Carlos Moreira, Founder & CEO, WISeKey