SAHEL SSI

SAHEL Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) Architecture

Digital identity systems increasingly underpin access to services, rights, and opportunities. However, most existing solutions rely on centralized databases, proprietary platforms, or opaque trust models that create long-term risks related to privacy, control, interoperability, and institutional dependency.

The SAHEL Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) architecture is designed as an alternative: a privacy-preserving, standards-based, and governance-driven identity infrastructure that can be deployed in real institutional, public-sector, and international contexts. Rather than focusing on identity as a product, SAHEL treats SSI as critical digital infrastructure.

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What Is the SAHEL SSI Architecture?

The SAHEL SSI architecture is a modular trust framework that enables the issuance, holding, and verification of digital credentials without centralizing personal data or controlling user identity.

It combines:

  • Open SSI standards
  • User-controlled wallets
  • Verifiable Credentials
  • Transparent governance mechanisms
  • Responsible, minimal use of blockchain

The result is an architecture that is operationally realistic, regulatorily compatible, and interoperable by design.

Core Design Principles

The architecture is guided by a small set of non-negotiable principles:

  • User Sovereignty: Individuals and organizations control their own credentials and decide when and how they are shared.
  • Privacy by Design: No personal data or credential contents are stored on the blockchain or in centralized identity databases.
  • Standards First: The architecture is built on widely adopted SSI standards to ensure long-term interoperability and avoid vendor lock-in.
  • Governance, Not Control: Trust is established through transparent governance and accreditation, not through platform ownership.
  • Blockchain with Purpose: Blockchain is used only where it adds verifiable value: integrity, auditability, and accountability.

High-Level Architecture Overview

The SAHEL SSI architecture is structured into clearly separated layers, each with a specific responsibility.

1. Identity and Credential Layer (Off-Chain)

This layer handles all identity-sensitive operations.

What happens here

  • Creation and management of decentralized identifiers (DIDs)
  • Issuance of Verifiable Credentials by authorized issuers
  • Storage of credentials in user-controlled wallets
  • Selective disclosure and presentation to verifiers

Key characteristic
All identity data remains off-chain and under the control of the credential holder.

2. Governance and Integrity Layer (Blockchain-Based)

This layer provides public, verifiable trust signals without handling identity data.

What is anchored

  • Credential schema approvals and versions
  • Issuer accreditation records
  • Revocation registry commitments
  • Governance and protocol configuration decisions

Only hashes, identifiers, and timestamps are recorded — never personal data.

3. Public Artifact Layer (Off-Chain, Hash-Anchored)

This layer hosts public but non-sensitive documents such as:

  • Credential schemas
  • Governance policies
  • Accreditation statements
  • Revocation status lists

Their integrity is guaranteed by cryptographic hashes anchored in the governance layer.

What the Architecture Enables

The SAHEL SSI architecture makes it possible to:

  • Issue credentials that are portable and verifiable across systems
  • Verify information without centralized identity databases
  • Support multi-stakeholder trust frameworks
  • Enable auditability without surveillance
  • Deploy SSI in regulated and public-sector environments

Importantly, verifiers remain autonomous: they decide whether to trust a credential based on transparent evidence, not on a single authority.

Who the Architecture Is For

The SAHEL SSI architecture is designed for:

  • Public administrations and public-sector pilots
  • International and cross-border projects
  • Educational and professional credentialing
  • Regulated industries and institutional ecosystems
  • Organizations seeking vendor-neutral identity solutions

End users benefit from sovereignty and privacy, while institutions benefit from auditability and interoperability.

Why Governance Matters in SSI

SSI systems cannot rely on cryptography alone.
They also require clear answers to questions such as:

  • Who defines credential formats?
  • Who is authorized to issue them?
  • How are changes approved?
  • How can trust be audited over time?

The SAHEL architecture addresses these questions through a transparent governance layer, which is where the SAHEL token plays its role.

From Architecture to Token

The SAHEL token is is a supporting component of this SSI architecture.

Once the architecture exists, the token enables:

  • Verifiable governance participation
  • Accountable issuer accreditation
  • Long-term sustainability of the trust framework

Read Next: The SAHEL Token