Aproductivity company, Microsoft, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a panAfrican financial institution, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, to complement African governments’ efforts to modernise and raise the standards of the continent’s major cities through state of the art digital solutions.
The MoU will see the modernisation of sectors that will have the immediate and significant impact on African countries. These sectors will include bursary disbursements and school fee collections in the education sector, market shop and small vendor municipality collections, vehicle and driving licensing as well as e-Visa and e-Passport fee collections.
The agreement also s u p p o r t s the implementation of a comprehensive electronic skills and a digital literacy programme. Other key areas such as land registration and fee collections in the municipal and hospital services are all expected to see some tremendous modernisation.
The collaboration ensued from increasing pressure on African cities due to urbanisation and the need to provide services that will ensure a healthier and safer environment, delivered in a fair, open and sustainable manner.
General Manager, Microsoft, Mr. Amr Kamel, said, “Our aim is to help societies digitally transform from the single consumer to entire government departments. “Any nation properly supported by technology can transform into an intelligent ecosystem, capable of engaging with its citizens, empowering employees and optimising operations to vastly improve lives.”
As a means of ensuring the effective modernisation of key areas in government, the Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank, Mr. Ade Ayeyemi, explained that the duo will collaborate in sharing best practices and technical guidance to government workers or citizens, who will be using the applications regularly.
“Microsoft is a globally recognised brand. We are delighted to partner with Ecobank to move faster on our digital transformation strategy, the main focus of which is to increase financial inclusion in Africa.”
