Evernym, one of the leading innovators in the identity space, announced today that it is launching its “Identity for Good” initiative in conjunction with the Sovrin Foundation at the Sustainable Development Impact Summit organized by the World Economic Forum in New York. As part of this initiative, Evernym is opening its Accelerator program to Non Profit Organization (NPOs) applications. Evernym will waive the $50,000 membership fee it normally charges to participate in the program. A panel of judges will select the successful applicants. The first group of awards will be announced before December 2018 and will include 5 organizations. Further NPO cohorts are already planned for 2019.

The World Bank estimates over 1 billion persons, usually the most vulnerable, are without formal identity. This prevents them from asserting their rights, receiving benefits, keeping their families together, and sometimes affects their very safety. Digital identity has been seen as a key solution to this problem. This is especially true thanks to some of the latest advances in the field of Decentralized Identity and one of its more intriguing implementations, Self Sovereign Identity. Many humanitarian-focused organizations are eager to study this technology and determine its applicability for their own mission, but many balk for budgetary reasons.

“Our ‘Identity for Good’ initiative solves this budget issue, bootstraps access to the technology, and allows participating NPOs to innovate just as commercial enterprises do” said Timothy Ruff, CEO of Evernym. “It’s our privilege to be working side-by-side with Sovrin Foundation, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, and our employees are very excited to work with some of the most forward-thinking NPOs,” Ruff concluded.

“We believe in the idea of digital identity for all,” said Heather Dahl, Executive Director of the Sovrin Foundation. “And so we are thrilled to support this initiative from Evernym, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. It will help open our network to those who can use it to advance identity as an individual right,” added Dahl.

“Shared learning and innovation across sectors is key to advancing good digital identities that put individuals at the centre”, said Derek O’Halloran, Head of World Economic Forum System Initiative on Digital Economy and Society. “We are glad to support Evernym and Sovrin Foundation’s initiative to equip not-for-profit organisations with innovative tools and capabilities to pursue good identity.”

Self Sovereign Identity (SSI)

Self-sovereign identity is the concept that a person, business, organization, or IoT device securely and privately stores and controls their own identity data (often provided by trusted institutions) on their individual devices- sometimes known as a digital wallet. Then, if an identity needs to be verified, --like opening a line of credit or proving you are of age to order a drink-- it is as efficient and easy as pulling out a phone and swiping a bar code. It gets rid of individual passwords, accounts, and troves of toxic data sitting on centralized, and often unsecure, servers.

Accelerator

Evernym’s Accelerator Program enables its members to perform hands-on evaluations of some of the most advanced concepts and technology in digital identity today. Members determine how this technology applies to their business and how it can be implemented. Members in the Accelerator receive from Evernym access to technology, advanced digital identity tools, education, support, and expertise. Participants in the Accelerator program are also encouraged to interact with each other and even create prototypes that test complex real-life scenarios like cross-organization use cases.

Evernym

Founded in 2013, Evernym develops software solutions that leverage cryptography and blockchain technology to establish trust in the interaction of individuals, organizations and connected devices. Learn more about Evernym and its self-sovereign identity solutions at evernym.com.

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