Elizabeth Nyamwange, a Byron, Illinois native, is the brains of “Etana,” a device that attempts to solve the world’s identity problem. Nyamwange saw the immediate impact of this issue in Kenya in 2020 when she visited a shop owned by her aunt. She noticed that many ladies were unable to purchase goods because they did not have a bank account.
She also noticed they didn’t have a bank account because they didn’t have identification. That motivated her to look for solutions to the problem. While attending the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Nyamwange took an app development course and merged her passion for social justice with programming to begin designing a gadget to solve the problem.
As a result, the young entrepreneur concentrated on developing a prototype. She purchased a 3D printer and applied for a grant to assist with development. Despite the challenge of gathering funds due to her age, she claims she was able to collect more than $60,000.
As a consequence of the funding, Etana was created in 2021, and just last year, Nyamwange got a total of $36,000 for Etana through the Solv[ED] Youth Innovation Challenge’s three prizes, according to Shaw Local.
According to a release, Etana is a blockchain-enabled solar-powered device that enables women to create unique biometric digital identification without relying on internet or electrical connectivity, which are frequently unavailable in countries such as Kenya. According to Seventeen.com, her programming for Etana “converts a physical fingerprint into a mathematical algorithm that uploads to a private blockchain server where it is stored and used as identification.”
Nyamwange noted that the sole reason she contemplated using blockchain was because it is decentralized. She needed something that couldn’t be hacked, stolen, or falsified. With Etana, she intends to bridge the digital identification gap that many women face around the world and enable women to participate in the most basic processes, such as banking, finding work, receiving healthcare, obtaining legal protection, and more.
The device is currently being tested, and the funds she recently received from the three prizes is being used to obtain a patent, according to Nyamwange. She will then participate in a pilot program.
According to the World Bank, around a billion people worldwide lack legal identification. Without official identity confirmation, opening bank accounts, voting, and even acquiring a cell phone are difficult, if not impossible. Around half of women in low-income countries lack identification documents, limiting their freedom and access to resources. Women are particularly affected by this issue.