Yoma ID (YoID)

Yoma ID (YoID) is a digital identity platform launched in 2020 that implements Self-Sovereign Identity principles to help young people in Africa build verifiable digital credentials and connect with employment opportunities. The platform uses blockchain technology and verifiable credentials to create portable digital CVs and manage user identity data.

The technical implementation includes the use of decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and asymmetric cryptography for secure credential management. All user data is assigned to personal DIDs which are paired through cryptographically stored key pairs used for creating connections, signing contracts, and issuing credentials. The platform was initially built on the Sovrin Network using Trinsic's cloud wallet and credentialing APIs, with data storage compliant with EU and UK GDPR regulations.

The project has seen significant adoption, reaching over 250,000 young users and issuing more than 784,500 digital tokens since its launch. It is implemented through a partnership between Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), UNICEF, Botnar Foundation and RLabs, with support from the European Union and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Key technical features include:

• Data portability allowing credentials to be used across platforms
• Privacy-preserving machine learning for skills matching
• Digital token system (Zlto) for incentivizing platform engagement
• Support for multiple languages including English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Kirundi and Kiswaheli