BITT, the Barbados-based financial technology company, has signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the e-Governance Academy (eGA) in Estonia on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. This MOU will facilitate closer collaboration between the parties, towards achieving greater accessibility and efficiency in the public’s everyday interaction with their Government, in countries across the Caribbean.
Government processes that modernise from traditional to digital can reduce expenditure for state institutions and its patrons, while improving the overall efficiency and delivery of their products and services. The eGA are the global e-governance and cybersecurity experts working with the governments of Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Haiti and Guyana to digitally transform various divisions of their respective public sectors.
BITT’s Chief Economist, Marla Dukharan, detailed the relevance of this historic three-year MOU to the citizens of the region: “While some Caribbean countries are deriving efficiency by implementing e-government solutions, many people can’t access these services because they are excluded from the traditional financial space – so many people don’t have traditional bank accounts. BITT’s mobile payments app could
securely and cost-effectively provide the ‘unbanked’ with the financial access to these e-government platforms and provide the ‘banked’ population with a cost-effective alternative to credit cards and other means, to pay on these platforms. Imagine being able to renew your driver’s permit, your passport, or access any other government service, by using an app on your smartphone – no lining up, no time wasted.
This is what BITT could deliver to the people of the Caribbean, by partnering with the eGA.”
After signing the MOU, Executive Director and Chairman of the Management Board of the eGA, Arvo Ott, proudly stated: “The eGA is aware of the many challenges faced by the Caribbean, and other developing countries. We are pleased to provide our e-government knowledge to promote efficiency and ease of doing business, and indirectly support socio-economic development. The collaboration with BITT derives synergies from the work that we each currently conduct in the Caribbean, and we look forward to making access to government services convenient and secure for all citizens.”
Some other features of e-governance include secure digital archives of health and police records, land registry and electoral processes. The potential benefits have led other Caribbean governments to commence discussions with the eGA to explore possible rollouts.
About BITT Incorporated: The BITT group of companies has positioned itself at the forefront of financial innovation in Barbados and the wider Caribbean. The Company has leveraged blockchain-based distributed ledger technology to produce the most efficient financial services ecosystem to date.
About the e-Governance Academy: The e-Governance Academy (eGA) is a non-profit consultancy, which helps governments increase their governance efficiency and improve their democratic processes. eGA has cooperated with over 200 organisations in 130 countries and assisted with e-government and digital transformation policy planning and implementation.
