WISeKey and Microsoft collaborate to support Rwandan Government make secure transactions using Blockchain Technology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WISeKey and Microsoft collaborate to support Rwandan Government make secure transactions using Blockchain Technology

Geneva, Kigali - October 11, 2017 - WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey") (SIX: WIHN), a leading global cybersecurity and IoT solutions company, announced a collaboration with Microsoft aimed at facilitating the Rwanda Government Blockchain project as the country journeys to becoming more digitised.

This solution incorporates WISeKey's identity management capabilities with Microsoft Azure Blockchain capabilities to enable secure transactions, digital authentication and legally binding signatures - all aligned to the Rwandan Government's Blockchain project.

The objective is to bring the Rwandan government and its private sector closer to realising the benefits of digital transformation with a more open, transparent and publicly verifiable system that will fundamentally change the way value-exchange, assets, enforcement of contracts, and sharing of data across industries will be experienced.

The Rwandan Blockchain project which was established earlier this year in partnership with WISeKey's Blockchain Centre of Excellence aims to position the country as a key player in digital transformation by providing citizens and businesses access to policy, technical and business expertise which ultimately aims to facilitate growth in the country.

In the first phase, the Rwanda Land Registry will be digitised to ensure control of authenticity. Using WISeKey's WiseID suite of mobile applications - a secure semiconductor solution - the system will digitally store necessary data to enable authenticity of identification and the validation of assets. Applying Azure's capabilities will ensure that all personal data is protected and secured.

This solution will benefit the Government of Rwanda and any future Microsoft Azure and WISeKey client leveraging a broad portfolio of familiar and security-enhanced software, partner solutions, devices and services. 

Microsoft has long been committed to enabling both the public and private sectors of the African continent to digitally transform.  Becoming a technology partner to WISeKey's solution seems to be a natural fit. Microsoft believes this collaboration will enable them to be a part of a solution that will facilitate private and public collaboration in Rwanda.

"We are delighted to form this new partnership with Microsoft by combining our technology to provide trusted blockchain solutions. This will cover technology gaps in the private and public blockchain infrastructure for enterprise and governmental projects, facilitate secure transactions and also verify the identity of the parties participating in these transactions, said Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of WISeKey.

"Microsoft is proud to be WISeKey's technology partner of choice. We trust this solution will bring the Rwandan government and its private sector closer to realising the benefits of digital transformation with a more open, transparent, and publicly verifiable system that will fundamentally change the way value-exchange, assets, enforcement of contracts, and sharing of data across industries will be experienced," said Dr. Ashraf Abdelwahab, Chief Technical Officer, Microsoft 4Afrika.

About WISeKey:
WISeKey (SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems with a patented process. WISeKey's Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust ("RoT") provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com.

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