Humanity International Investments Hits Major Milestones in Digital Identity with the Humanity Protocol Initiative in Partnership with BIO-key International

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates and HOLMDEL, N.J., March 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Humanity International Investments (HII) and (NASDAQ: BKYI), announce significant milestones in HII’s innovative Humanity Protocol initiative. Over 40,000 NFTs have been claimed to date, showcasing the project making remarkable strides in digital identity and blockchain technology integration.

Humanity International Investments, under the Chairmanship of His Highness, Sheikh Marwan bin Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, launched a blockchain-based economic empowerment initiative, the Humanity Protocol, and strategically partnered with BIO-key, a leader in Identity and Access Management solutions including biometric palm scan authentication.

This collaboration will enable individuals, particularly in Africa, to authenticate their identities through a palm scan to securely claim their digital footprint through a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). The innovative approach not only enhances security and privacy in digital transactions but empowers individuals by providing them with a verified and immutable digital identity, marking a significant step forward in the integration of biometric technology with blockchain for identity verification. To date, the partnership has already garnered approximately 15,000 palm scans with plans to verify each of the current registered users.

"This milestone demonstrates our commitment to revolutionizing digital identity in Africa and beyond, made possible by our partnership with BIO-key, a leading biometric technology provider," said Aly Ramji, General Partner of Humanity International Investments.

The initiative has expanded to include a groundbreaking Community Staking program, engineered to function as a comprehensive ecosystem where NFTs represent the identity of participants. Each NFT assigns a unique digital identity to each user but also facilitates a direct and transparent method for distributing economic returns.

With over 40,000 unique registered users across 94 countries, with a significant footprint in Nigeria, Kenya, and Vietnam, the Humanity Protocol demonstrates a sustainable model where community stakers back each participant. This backing is not just financial; it is a vote of confidence in the individuals' ability to contribute to and thrive within the digital economy.

"This innovative program is designed to provide financial benefits to participants, fostering a robust and financially inclusive community to those at the bottom of the pyramid across Africa and Asia," said Ramji.

The Humanity Protocol is pioneering a digital identity revolution, leveraging the potential of Africa's young and rapidly urbanizing population to ensure broader access to the decentralized digital economy. The community staking program is Humanity International Investment's commitment to inclusivity and security in the digital space.

About Humanity International Investments

Humanity International Investments is a Dubai-based social impact fund dedicated to fostering financial inclusion across Africa. With an expansive network spanning the continent, the organization is committed to bridging the identity gap for the unbanked and the ultra-poor. By collaborating with innovative technology partners, the Humanity Protocol seeks to provide verifiable identities, enabling countless Africans to access financial services, credit, and opportunities for wealth creation. Their vision is not just about creating identities but about empowering individuals to change their futures and have a voice in the global digital community.

About BIO-key International, Inc. ()

BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software securing access for over thirty-eight million users. BIO-key allows customers to choose the right authentication factors for diverse use cases, including phoneless, tokenless, and passwordless biometric options. Its hosted or on-premise PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy-to-deploy, convenient, and secure access to computers, information, applications, and high-value transactions.

BIO-key Safe Harbor Statement

All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). The words "estimate," "project," "intends," "expects," "anticipates," "believes" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Act. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those included within or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, our history of losses and limited revenue; our ability to raise additional capital to satisfy working capital needs; our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to protect our intellectual property; changes in business conditions; changes in our sales strategy and product development plans; changes in the marketplace; continued services of our executive management team; security breaches; competition in the biometric technology industry; market acceptance of biometric products generally and our products under development; our ability to convert sales opportunities to customer contracts; our ability to expand into Asia, Africa and other foreign markets; our ability to integrate the operations and personnel of Swivel Secure into our business; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; delays in the development of products and statements of assumption underlying any of the foregoing as well as other factors set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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Humanity International Investments Contact

Jumal Lewis

Humanity International Investments

 or 1 (917) 833-1830

BIO-key Contacts

William Jones, David Collins

Catalyst IR

 or 1 (212) 924-9800