ETANA

Building Gender Inclusive Digital Economies

people without identification

1B

percent of women in low-income countries without ID

44%

WOMEN IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA WIthout ID

> 600M

UN Social Forum

Etana’s presentation at the United Nations Social Forum and the UN’s Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development in Geneva, Switzerland (2023).

About Us

Etana is a solar powered device that uses SMS-gateway and blockchain technology to create digital identification for women in remote environments.

Our mission is to

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Empower Women

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Support vulnerable communities

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create gender inclusive digital economies

SMS-Gateway

An SMS gateway makes it possible for a broader range of devices and applications to communicate with each other. For example, you could use a computer to send an SMS message to someone’s smartphone. Most times, the message leaves your computer in a format that’s incompatible with SMS. SMS gateways translate the message so the mobile device can understand it.

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RESOURCES

BLOCKCHAIN & IDENTIFICATION

The use of blockchain technology to combat the digital identification crisis isn’t new, but the problem remains that women are far less likely to have identification in comparison to men.

This idea was inspired by not only the women without access to identification, but the technology companies and startups that learned to utilize this technology before, allowing us to create a more gender-responsive approach to digital identification.

Here are some of the startups who’s work made this possible.

IDBox (Julien Buteloup) is a device based tech company that to supply digital identification. Etana used work like Buteloup’s for inspiration, adapting the technology to to specific groups of people.

SMS Chain

Aidonic

Current Development

We are currently continuing work on a prototype, and working on raising our first round of pre-seed funding.

The intention is to keep women in mind for every step of the design process, which is why we are working with the ThinkPlace office in Nairobi, Kenya to conduct a research pilot.

If you are interested in contributing technically, financially, or in any other way, please email info@elizabethnyamwange.com.