The Bahamas

Boosting economic mobility.

Launched

July 2018

Sector

Government

Partner

Inter-American Development Bank

Skills Training

In July of 2018, the first ever group of students in the Latin America-Caribbean region received digital graduation certificates, anchored to the BTC blockchain. This class was the first cohort to pass through the National Training Agency’s (NTA) Workforce Preparedness Program, which aims to prepare young people for a 21st Century Workforce, delivered under the Inter-American Development Bank. These graduates were excited to be the first in the region to have digital credentials they own and can verify anywhere. 

Fernando Pavón, Specialist at the IDB, addressed why they chose this technology: “With easy shareability, instant verification, and recipient ownership, Blockcerts brought joy to both the NTA administrators who issued the certificates and to the Bahamian graduates who received them. However, joy by itself isn’t enough: Above all, the project has to impact long-term development goals. And, this is where we focused on two in particular: 1) ease of getting a job, and 2) ease of starting a business.”

“How often do you get to do something that will bring immediate delight to citizens? These things make their lives easier, more fun, and more fulfilling.”

Fernando Pavón, Specialist at the IDB

To get a job in the Bahamas, people often need to present multiple documents that may include certifications, driver’s license, passport, or National Insurance Card. People that don’t have one or more of these documents suffer because they won’t be considered for job opportunities. This is the central problem that’s being addressed.

This technology also promises to help businesses in getting licensed. Today, it requires almost 22 days on average, which is a long time to wait. Since getting a license depends mostly on records verification, having those records as Blockcerts could eventually streamline the whole process into one day. Moreover, having a verifiable business license in hand could also prevent a host of administrative headaches down the road.

The Bahamas has just taken the first step in creating an open, automated, and verifiable digital records ecosystem.

Customer Stories

FSMB
Medical

MIT
Education