Buenos Aires set to have blockchain-based ID system for inclusion project

Layer 1s • August 26, 2019, 6:45AM EDT

UPDATED: August 26, 2019, 6:47AM EDT

A group of three organizations has joined hands for developing a blockchain-based digital identity (ID) system in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, for an inclusion project.

The group, consisting of tech firm NEC Argentina, NGO Bitcoin Argentina, and IDB Lab (a division of the Inter-American Development Bank Group), have signed an agreement to develop the blockchain system, aimed at improving access to "quality goods and services" for inhabitants of Buenos Aires.

The four-year project looks to provide a blockchain-based digital identity to all residents of the city, which could improve access to financial services, especially for people living below the poverty line, per the announcement.

The initiative, also seeing support from tech giant Accenture, will first be introduced in Barrio 31 and is expected to be expanded to two other "economically vulnerable" neighborhoods in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, the trio said.

"By consolidating trustworthy, accessible, and relevant digital identities, the project ultimately aims to increase access to goods and services for the residents of vulnerable neighborhoods, thus allowing them to improve their opportunities for socioeconomic inclusion in the fourth industrial revolution," said Erika Molina, project team leader at IDB Lab.

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