Thndr Technologies Holding has announced that it leads a consortium of five fintech companies, named ‘Imda’, aiming to become a standalone electronic signature provider in the Egyptian market.
Imda consortium includes Thndr Technologies Holding, Digital Finance (DFin) Holding, Digified, Masria Card (MDP), and Public Partners Insurance Brokerage (PPIB).
The consortium is geared towards individual consumers in Egypt with the objective of allowing them to create digitally verified identities that can perform court approved signatures electronically. A move that will provide a more secure, efficient, and convenient way for users to sign documents, contracts, and agreements.
“Through Thndr, we are looking to remove all obstacles users face throughout their investment journey - whether relating to account opening, associated costs, access to resources, or ease of use. With this consortium, we could take this vision beyond just making our users’ investment journey frictionless, but also to other fintechs and individuals trying to access different financial services online”, said Ahmad Hammouda, Co-founder at Thndr.
Shehab Marzban, CEO and Founder at Dfin said that Imda would take Egypt a step closer to a digital economy, which is one of the main transformational projects that the country has been prioritising, especially through initiatives driven by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA).
The e-signature in Egypt is governed by a law issued in 2004 that established the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), and regulates “e-signatures” to support Egypt’s e-commerce industry by securing the Internet as a legally viable medium for online financial activities.
Electronic signatures create a range of opportunities, including improving the efficiency of administration work, leveling up the performance of governmental services, broadening Egypt’s potentials, and increasing the country’s competitiveness on a global scale, according to ITIDA.
In February, ITIDA issued three licenses for three local firms to provide e-signature services.
The licenses allow recipients to provide e-signature certificates, e-seals, and time stamp services for both individuals and businesses, according to ITIDA.
ITIDA’s CEO Amr Mahfouz said the issuing of additional e-signature licenses comes in response to the fast development witnessed in the local information technology sector and also to further enhance Egypt’s digital readiness.
In 2020, Egypt was ranked among the top 10 improvers in Roland Berger’s Digital Inclusion Index.
The index measures and analyses levels of digital inclusiveness in 82 countries across the globe based on their scores across four digital inclusion levers: accessibility, affordability, ability, and attitude.
On 11 July 2006, ITIDA issued 4 Licenses to practice the activity of e-signature services for four companies.
On 28 September 2009, ITIDA issued the license for the Ministry of Finance to offer the e-signature services for government personnel.
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