“This experience has strengthened our confidence in Wallet technologies and their potential. We look forward to expanding use cases and scaling across borders”
Cybernetica and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) have successfully concluded a Proof of Concept (PoC) pilot project introducing wallet-based digital credential technology for education degree certificates in Kenya. The initiative, conducted in collaboration with the University of Nairobi and Kenya's Public Service Commission, demonstrates a new approach to combating credential fraud while advancing digital governance across the nation.
The pilot addresses a critical challenge facing Kenya's civil service: an audit by the Public Service Commission uncovered over 2000 fake academic and professional certificates used to secure government positions. This widespread credential fraud undermines public trust, compromises service delivery, and provides unqualified individuals with unfair advantages in merit-based recruitment.
The solution
TBI and Cybernetica developed two complementary digital tools: a user-controlled wallet for verifying, storing, and sharing verifiable credentials that can be authenticated in real time, and an accredited issuer portal allowing universities to issue academic credentials as cryptographically backed verifiable credentials. The solution leverages the decentralised W3C Digital Wallet and Verifiable Credential Model, complying with international standards.
Unlike centralised systems, this approach eliminates single points of failure, reduces reliance on sensitive government infrastructure, and removes the costs and delays associated with third-party verification processes. All this ensures there is no single database of credentials vulnerable to theft or hacking, significantly reducing security risks.
Proven results
The pilot demonstrated objective success and user acceptance. All participants successfully downloaded the application and received digital credentials, with 93% able to display verification QR codes and 83% completing successful verification. User experience feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with all participants finding the process easy to understand and 94% confident they could repeat it without assistance.
Trust in the system proved high, too, with 89% of participants comfortable with wider adoption and 83% reporting no privacy concerns. Participants also identified strong potential for extending the approach beyond academic credentials to areas such as national ID verification, driver's licenses, and professional certifications.
"The Kenyan Wallet project has been a valuable journey for Cybernetica. We're proud to have delivered a secure, modern solution for education degree certificates with TBI. This experience has strengthened our confidence in Wallet technologies and their potential. We look forward to expanding use cases and scaling across borders," said Sven Heiberg, Head of Digital Identity Technologies at Cybernetica.
Path forward
The success of this pilot lays the foundation for scaling toward a trusted, lifelong skills and career infrastructure supporting Kenya's public service and labour market. The initiative is explicitly aligned with the Kenya Trust Framework and Trust Registry being developed under the Ministry of ICT and the Digital Economy and the ICT Authority, ensuring that verifiable credentials capability evolves as part of Kenya's broader digital public infrastructure.
Scaling is envisioned not as an immediate nationwide rollout, but as a progressive and controlled expansion in scope, institutions, and credential types, aligned with operational evidence, institutional readiness, and national governance priorities. At its core is a Skills and Credentials Wallet designed to interoperate with existing national digital assets, including National ID Wallets and Mobile Money platforms.