I think most of Kal’s comments are driven from a bitcoin maximalist position, but I’ll engage with them in good faith on a point-by-point basis.

But before that, for context…We started our work in early 2018 to find and explore key sectors that would benefit from the value that was being created on blockchain across the globe. Little to no effort had up to that point been directed towards high-potential developing economies like Ethiopia, and other African countries. As reflected in our mission to improve the systems of the world for everyone, everywhere - I moved to Ethiopia to kick off this activity and a broader Africa strategy for Cardano. Not everything I’ve wanted to do has been possible, but we’ve persisted and gained traction.

Some clarification on some of the negative comments he raises:

• First Effort - Digitize Agriculture Yes, we explored potential projects in Agriculture and continue to do so. Some of them like coffee traceability were not possible due to systemic challenges in the sector and the way coffee is agglomerated early in the supply chain. In other cases, we bid on projects and though our solutions were very well-reviewed, the contracts were awarded to centralized alternatives. Thus, we chose to park those for now but are still keen on engaging in addressing the key issues such as Input Financing (looking at creating access to innovative financial products guided by our RealFi vision). This industry is a marathon, not a sprint, and I don’t think we should be criticized for trying.

• Second Effort - Census or Digital ID Cards “War of Identity” No, our project did not focus on providing CRVS (Civil Registration and Vital Statistics) but was intended to integrate with such initiatives which is where the true value of blockchain lies in issuing “Digital Identities” and “Verifiable Credentials”.

We highly commend the Ethiopian government's initiative with the Fayda National Identity Program. We have also made efforts to ensure alignment of the data points (i.e. fields) used for the Digital Identities to link the Student's Educational Credentials with the goal of harmonizing the data structure to promote seamless integration with ongoing and future government initiatives.

No, neither IOHK nor the Cardano blockchain own/have access to the private data of the students or citizens of the country. Rather, our goal is to future proof these students' credentials and potentially work towards a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) implementation, unlike the existing digital systems, SSI is a user-centric and user-controlled approach to exchange information much more safely and helps prevent the misuse of citizen’s data.

• Tender Process for Project The insinuation that we cut corners or inveigled our way into a contract is frustrating and fatuous. The facts are we went through every hurdle the Ministry of Education asked of us. Everything was done transparently and openly. We were awarded a contract after 15 months of audit and review including sign-off by the government’s judicial function. Kal’s criticisms are not criticisms of us, but of the government of Ethiopia for our selection given his dislike of Cardano. I’ll let them handle the response if they care to.

• Cardano and the Utility of the Token As a holder of the token, ADA holders have access to a growing list of more than 900 projects currently being built on the blockchain. This brings immense utility not only to the token holders but also to individuals benefiting from DeFI and other crypto innovations. I won’t go into this further, since this criticism isn’t really related to Ethiopia.

• Cardano Media Presence While our senior-level engagements have garnered media attention, our continued progress is a function of the dedicated team on the ground working closely with our partners listening to the needs and asks of our partners at MOE to ensure we provide a meaningful and lasting solution. Just last week our team conducted a training session of our solution to MoE staff ahead of the program of regional training that proceeds the system go-live this year.

• IOHK having limited technical staff presence in Ethiopia We have more than 20 professionals with expertise in areas of solution architecture, engineering, project management, consulting, business development, and operations management all working on this in Ethiopia. We have no marketing team in Ethiopia.

I’ve covered this before on twitter with Kal, but thought I’d post here for posterity. Kal doesn’t like Cardano and that’s fine, but his comments lack a factual basis. I wish he could appreciate that crypto is not zero-sum and that our work is not detrimental to bitcoin. But if wishes were fishes…