Happy new year 2023, UTU Trust Guardians! Welcome to the UTU recap of 2022!
2022 was a great year for UTU with many lessons and challenges, but despite that we were able to record many milestones.
Here they are, in case you missed them!
Product Launches
We had some major product launches last year!
First, we launched testnet to great traction in March. More than 7,500 Trust Guardians participated in the UTU TestNet Rewards Program and gave invaluable feedback towards the building of Mainnet.
Then we launched mainnet in October to set the stage for users to start earning UTT and build their digital reputation. Developers can now integrate UTU Protocol to let users view UTU Trust Signals including providing feedback and UTU Trust Token (UTT) endorsements within their sites and dApps.
Remember to check out the initial MVPs of UTU Protocol running on our website if you haven’t already. Visit the UTU App to connect your wallet with the initial set of social platforms we’ve integrated to earn some UTT. This showcases how UTU’s APIs and SDKs can be integrated into your site or platform to help users get better signals about the things they interact with and ultimately make better decisions.
In January, we are launching something big. Keep your eyes peeled. And stay tuned for our roadmap update.
Partnerships
We forged a number of great partnerships in 2022 to build UTU capabilities and client base.
In February, we partnered with Jamborow to enhance financial inclusion in Africa and BH Network to increase trust in the global freelancing space.
In March, we partnered with Chainlink to track endorsement data and power rewards on the UTU protocol testnet and Qubism to build trust in their cross-chain marketplace.
In April, we partnered with OpenFabric to integrate the UTU trust infrastructure into their AI ecosystem and Evai to share signals with UTU to enable web3 users make better decisions.
The Africa DeFi Alliance
In April, we also launched the Africa DeFi Alliance alongside four companies — Ape Unit, BitLipa, Mamlaka and SympliFi. The Africa DeFi Alliance is an open protocol for decentralized working capital and MSME financial solutions across Africa, to overwhelming support and uptake.
Early pilot results with Kenyan taxi app, MaraMoja, have been extremely positive with 100% uptake by more than 600 MaraMoja drivers and 100% repayment across more than 1,700 advances worth $160,000+, at rates that are 5–10x better than what was otherwise available to them.
Learn more about the alliance and how you can join the movement here.
In June, we partnered with Unstoppable Domains to resolve domains natively in UTU, and build UTU trust infrastructure in their marketplace.
In October, we partnered with ENS in a similar move to make web3 more human-friendly and bring ENS names into UTU protocol.
In November, we announced a partnership with NEAR Kenya to deploy UTU trust infrastructure on the NEAR protocol, soon after we were awarded a grant to continue to build the UTU protocol in the best way possible.
ETHSafari
A special mention to this one-of-a-kind event: ETHSafari, the latest, greatest ETH event that went down in Kenya in September 2022. We were proud partners and contributors to the entire event that brought together builders and enthusiasts in the ethereum ecosystem to learn, hack, discuss and celebrate our decentralized future and the use cases that are transforming Africa.
More beneficial partnerships loading in 2023! Stay tuned.
Conclusion
We look forward to shipping valuable experiences to our customers in 2023 as we continue to improve capabilities through the year!
Thanks so much for your support, Trust Guardians!
Originally published at https://utu.io on January 6, 2023.
