The licenses that will be awarded to up to 3 companies will allow them to provide e-signature certificates, e-seal, and time stamp services for both individuals and businesses, according to ITIDA
Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) issued on Thursday new licenses for local firms to provide e-signature services.
The licenses, which will be granted to up to three companies, will allow recipients to provide e-signature certificates, e-seal, and time stamp services for both individuals and businesses, according to ITIDA.
ITIDA said that the statement of work will be available at its premise at the smart village through the coming Tuesday, 9 March, for an amount of EGP 40,000.
The statement of work includes the general and financial regulations and conditions stipulated by ITIDA for registration.
It also announced that applicants must be local firms working inside Egypt and meet all conditions and guarantees stipulated in law number 15 of 2004 and its bylaws, in addition to providing all required documents.
The ITIDA is committed to observing all substantive and technical conditions and all the regulations specified by law no.15 for the year 2004 and its executive regulations, according to the statement.
The issuing of additional e-signature services licenses is one of a series of initiatives and policies led by ITIDA that aim to support Egypt’s digital transformation.
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.
Mahfouz explained that the new licenses will enable the spread of high-security e-signature services’ usage to meet the increasing and unprecedented demand across all sectors.
The ITIDA will host a series of Q&A sessions to answer all applicants' queries in March, according to the statement.
After the deadline for submitting bids, the ITIDA will commence reviewing and evaluating all bids by a committee of specialists and experts, and results will be officially announced soon afterwards.
The ITIDA said that it is committed to awarding licenses in a period not exceeding 60 days from the date of submitting license applications, and after the submission of all required documents, unless ITIDA decides to extend applications grace-- period.
The ITIDA licenses will be valid for three years.
The e-signature law was issued in 2004 to support Egypt’s e-commerce industry by securing the internet as a legally viable medium for digital transactions in order to boost digital transformation in all state sectors.
The bylaws of the e-signature law No. 361 of 2020 have been amended under the decision of the communications and information technology minister to accelerate Egypt’s digital transformation adoption, strengthen the central role of e-signatures in developing the efficiency of administrative work, improve government services, and add to Egypt’s competitiveness globally.
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.
source: Ahramhram
