Dates 

March 27 and 28, 2025

Eligibility 

Kifiya staff members 

University Students

Interns 

Project and Submission Requirements

Core Challenge Areas  

Teams may build modular components or a full-stack integrated system.  

A. AI-Driven Biometric Verification  

Build biometric authentication systems that support:  

Face recognition with liveness detection  

Deepfake and spoofing detection  

Voice biometrics (optional)  

Risk-triggered biometric step-up authentication  

Fairness and bias mitigation  

Bonus:  

Encrypted biometric templates  

Edge-device processing  

B. Intelligent eKYC Orchestration Engine  

Design an AI-powered onboarding system that:  

Aggregates multiple data sources  

Automates document verification (OCR + NLP)  

Detects inconsistencies and synthetic identities  

Generates reusable digital identity profiles  

Provides risk scoring dashboards  

Bonus:  

Cross-institution KYC portability  

Regulatory audit automation  

C. Digital Identity System (Identity-as-a-Service)  

Develop a portable digital identity infrastructure that includes:  

Unique identity creation  

Identity lifecycle management  

Attribute-based credentials  

Selective disclosure mechanisms  

Secure identity vault  

Identity recovery processes  

Optional exploration:  

Decentralized identity  

Verifiable credentials  

Self-sovereign identity models  

D. Federated Single Sign-On (SSO) for Financial Ecosystems  

Create a federated authentication layer allowing:  

One login across multiple financial institutions  

Interoperable identity federation  

Token-based secure sessions (OAuth2 / OpenID Connect)  

Consent management  

Revocation and session control  

Bonus:  

Passwordless authentication  

Biometric-backed SSO  

Cross-border federation    

E. Card-Based Digital Identity & Transaction System  

This is a newly added core innovation track.  

Design a Card-Linked Identity Infrastructure that combines:  

Verified digital identity  

Authentication credentials  

Transaction capability  

Your system may include:  

Identity Card Model  

Smart card or virtual card  

Linked to verified digital identity  

Embedded secure token or cryptographic key  

Biometric-bound card (card usable only after biometric authentication)  

Transaction Enablement  

Enable the card to:  

Perform payments  

Authorize financial transactions  

Act as KYC credential during merchant onboarding  

Enable offline transaction capability (low-connectivity mode)  

Security Architecture  

Tokenization of card data  

Dynamic CVV or rotating credentials  

Multi-factor authentication  

Fraud detection integration  

Secure element or HSM-based key management  

Innovative Extensions  

Identity-as-a-Card (card becomes portable KYC passport)  

Card-linked digital wallet  

Government ID + payment card convergence  

Cross-border usable identity-payment card  

Bonus:  

Biometric card (fingerprint-on-card simulation)  

Programmable card rules (risk-based spending limits)  

Financial inclusion-focused low-cost issuance model  

Prizes

100,000 ETB for the winning team. 

Evaluation Criteria

Bonus for: 

• Cross-border readiness 

• Inclusion-focused design 

• Low-bandwidth optimization 

• Real-world deployability

Technical Expectations 

Your prototype should demonstrate: 

• API-first architecture 

• Secure authentication standards 

• Microservices design 

• AI model metrics (accuracy, bias, precision/recall) 

• Card transaction simulation environment 

• Secure key and token management 

• Scalability and high availability considerations 

Preferred (not mandatory): 

• Python / Node.js / Go 

• TensorFlow / PyTorch 

• Docker / Kubernetes 

• REST / GraphQL APIs 

• Cryptographic libraries 

• Tokenization frameworks