Best Bitcoin Exchange for Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone Announces National Blockchain ID System. Sierra Leone’s national Blockchain ID system aims to give citizens access to credit. The ID system is intended to provide access to financial institutions and thus to affordable loans. Sierra Leone also hopes that this will strengthen society. According to a press release of September 2, the government of Sierra Leone plans to introduce a national ID system based on a blockchain by the end of 2019.

Sierra Leone cooperates with the United Nations

Julius Maada Bio, the acting President of Sierra Leone, announces the ID system for the end of 2019. The national ID system is designed to enable financial institutions to verify the identity of applicants. This will give citizens access to financial institutions and the opportunity to apply for affordable loans.

The project is called the National Digital Identity Platform (NDIP) and is a cooperation between the United Nations and the San Francisco-based non-profit organization Kiva. Kiva enables the granting of microcredits via the Internet to small businesses and individuals, especially in developing countries.

Security and citizen empowerment as the backbone of the economy

The project consists of two phases. President Bio explains that the first phase is the digitization of identities. He also says that the identity is a unique national identifier – the so-called identification number. This number cannot be duplicated and cannot be reused.

The identification number is surrounded by a credit information and reference device and a unique reference source for every service provided in Sierra Leone. Further says President Bio: Access to credit and financial services can significantly improve citizens’ lives by increasing their financial resilience. It will also strengthen and expand the private sector.

In addition, the protection of stored data should be a priority and citizens should be able to decide with whom personal data should be shared. We had already reported on the cooperation between Sierra Leone and Kiva in mid-August. Kiva is already providing small loans in 80 countries. Sierra Leone could now become the first country to use Kiva’s online credit system.

Previous reports where Sierra Leone wanted to use blockchain technology for the presidential elections had to be denied afterwards. It therefore remains to be seen how the current project will develop and whether the partners will achieve their goals.

History of Sierra Leonean Leone

The country’s population was estimated at 7.3 million in 2016 million. Freetown is Sierra Leone’s largest and capital city. The capital of the country recalls the history of the people of Sierra Leone, where most recurring slaves found refuge in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today the country is a popular tourist destination with many attractions such as beautiful white sandy beaches off the coast. The official language of Sierra Leone is English and the national currency is Sierra Leonean Leone.

Sierra Leone’s official currency is the Leone. The currency uses the code SLL, abbreviated as Leund is divided into 100 cents. The Leone was created in 1964 after the abandonment of the British West African pound. The transition to Leone gave the people of Sierra Leone their own currency. At the time of its introduction, 1 British West African pound was equal to 2 leones. The Leone was also synonymous with 10 Shilling.

Coins

The first Leone coins were introduced in 1964 in denominations of 20, 10, 5, 1 and ½ cent. The design and composition was strongly influenced by the colonial state currency of British West Africa. Among these early coins was the portrait of the first President of Sierra Leone. The 50 cent coin was introduced in 1972 and contained a similar design to the first coins, but contained a portrait of the second President of Sierra Leone.

Since 1974, various coins have been introduced, mainly inspired by the changing faces of leadership and government. These include copper-nickel coins such as the seven-sided Leone coin introduced in 1976 to commemorate the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). Also in 1980, octagonal nickel-bronze single-leone coins were introduced. The latter, however, was less popular than lower denomination coins and circulated less frequently. One lion coin had a portrait of General Joseph Saidu engraved on it. In order to increase its circulation, it replaced one of the Leone notes.

Banknotes

The Bank of Sierra Leone introduced a series of banknotes, including 1, 2 and 5 Leone, to officially replace the British West African pound. The notes remained relatively stable during the economic upheavals. Other banknotes such as 100 (1988), 500 (1991), 1,000 and 5,000 (1993), 2,000 (2000) and 10,000 Leone (2004) have since been introduced.

Inflation and the civil war

The civil war in Sierra Leone that started in 1991-2002 caused a period of rampant inflation and total economic collapse. During this period, older coins were effectively devalued, leading to the introduction of new coin denominations. In 1996 coins of 10, 50 and 100 were introduced. These coins were made of nickel-plated steel and contained portraits and symbols of the most influential personalities in the political history of the country. The 50 Leones coin was octagonal, while the 10 and 100 Leone coins were round. In 2004, after the civil war, a bimetallic and ten-sided 500 Leone coin was introduced to counter the devaluing lower denomination coins.