Etisalat Digital announced today its partnership with Smartworld toexclusively bringShahada, a tamper-proof digital certificate platform,to all educational institutions in the region.

This revolutionary solution will save time, effort and resources byenabling these institutionsto securely issue credentials on blockchain, avoiding forgery of paper-based certificatesand creating an educational passport where credentials are easily sharedwith third parties, who can verify their authenticity seamlessly.

Etisalat Digitalis working closely with Smartworld to empower ‘Shahada’ with its market reach, advanced infrastructure in the country and operational capabilitiesand take it to all schools and universities. The platform was launched in February this year by Smartworld, the UAE’s leading system integrator, and Grape Technology, a UAE blockchainstartup.

Shahadais in alignment with both the UAE Blockchain Strategy 2021 and the 50-Year Charterlaunched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Abdulla Ebrahim Al Ahmed, Senior Vice President, Government Sales, Etisalat,said: “We are pleased to partner with Smartworldto bring Shahada, a secure platform that is a groundbreaking innovationfor the educational sector. Etisalat Digital with its capabilities and expertise,utilisesdisruptive technologies to empower all sectors in UAE and the Middle East. Shahada reinforces our capabilities in blockchain after launching a nationwide platform in collaboration with eightmajor banks to digitisetrade in the finance sector.”

Abdulqader Ali, Chief Executive Officer, Smartworld, said: “Significant synergies will be gained from our partnership with Etisalat Digital and we are excited about the opportunities moving forward. Our ecosystem solutionwill not only help students, government and educational institutions, but also employers who will experience ease of verification and a reduction of fraud.”

The Shahadaplatform brings together educational institutions, government entities and other stakeholders on a secure permissioned blockchain platform. Itenables ministries to play a regulatory role on the blockchain records, digitally attest and certify credentials issued inside and outside the UAE.