The President, AUST, Prof. Azikiwe Peter Onwualu, FAS, (clad in blue kaftan on black cap), poses for a group photograph with management staff of AUST and TULUPAY team, shortly after the meeting
The President, AUST, Prof. Azikiwe Peter Onwualu, FAS, (clad in blue kaftan on black cap), poses for a group photograph with management staff of AUST and the TULUPAY Team, shortly after the meeting.

Abuja Nigeria – The President of the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Prof. Azikiwe Peter Onwualu, FAS, hosted delegates from Tulupay during a meeting to discuss a proposed collaboration on the Tulu Identity Pilot Project.

The meeting, held at the NNPC Hall, AUST, featured a presentation on Tulu Identity, an academic credentialing solution that leverages Hedera blockchain technology and verifiable credentials to make institutional certificates tamper-proof and globally verifiable. The initiative is designed to address the growing challenge of academic identity fraud across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The presentation included a live demonstration of the platform’s administrative portal and mobile holder application, followed by discussions on a proposed pilot implementation at AUST.

The Tulupay team explained that the platform serves not only as a credential verification system but also as a potential revenue-generating avenue for universities through credential issuance and integrated payment services. They further highlighted the platform’s multi-currency capabilities and outlined an engagement model involving the signing of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), institutional assessment, demonstration, integration, training, and ongoing support.

During the demonstration, the team showcased the administrative portal’s features, including the creation and versioning of credential templates, publication of time-limited departmental offers with selectable metadata, and a verifiable credential claim process. They also demonstrated functionalities such as setting expiry dates, pricing and currency options, bulk issuance of credentials to student email addresses, and a live credential claim using the mobile holder application. The platform incorporates an embedded digital wallet and optional payment APIs for alumni services and fee-related transactions.

According to the Tulupay team, institutions retain full ownership and control of their data, while Tulupay provides the licensing, blockchain infrastructure, and verification services required for secure credential management.

In his remarks, Prof. Onwualu expressed his delight with the initiative and its potential benefits to the University. He subsequently designated the Head of ICT, Mr Bidemi, to liaise with the Tulupay team on website integration processes and other technical requirements necessary for the proposed collaboration.