WorldCoin’s parent organization, Tools for Humanity, put in $4.8 million in Kenya to go towards blockchain and cryptocurrency education and ICT awareness.
This was revealed by CEO, Alex Blania, who appeared before a Kenyan parliamentary committee investigating the company’s activities in the country. According to Blania, the company executed these programmes through third-party agents and partners.
Blania went ahead to reveal engagements with several stakeholders around the education initiatives including:
- Strathmore University
- Blockchain Association of Kenya
- American Chamber of Commerce in the country
- The Africa Blockchain Centre
- New Hope Mukuru
However, according to the Kenyan government and critics, there is little to no evidence that any education to WorldCoin users was done following numerous instances of a lack of awareness of the product and the purpose for collecting biometric data.
Despite the company’s license being recently suspended, Blania said that they operate a legitimate business and intend to spend more of its funds in the East African nation.
“We wish to emphasise the WorldCoin project’s long-term commitment to Kenya. Our commitment to the people of Kenya is genuine, and we have at all times endeavored to operate honestly, compliantly and above all transparently,” he said.
He refuted claims that the company may sell the user data it collected during its registration process adding that a person’s free and informed consent is always secured before the processing of their personal data.
“All the personal and biometric data collected in Kenya is securely stored on servers either in the US, Italy, Germany, Poland or South Africa,” Blania said.
Nonetheless, legal experts argue that WorldCoin has a difficult task arguing its case. In an interview with a local technology outlet, technology lawyer, Meshack Masibo, said that WorldCoin would have to prove that it collects and processes Kenyans’ personal data with their consent.
“WorldCoin will be hard-pressed to prove that the users it was collecting data from were properly informed of who was collecting the data, why the data was being collected and the purpose of processing.”
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