ICT in Mozambique: ICT Projects Led by Escopil Internacional and MCNet

Rogério Samo Gudo talks about the ICT sector in Mozambique and mentions some important projects that have been led by Escopil Internacional and MCNet in this field.

“We know that the biggest challenge that governments face is to provide services to people, so we are trying to innovate and anticipate their need by joining forces with partners. These are companies that also come from all corners of the world and which have vast experience in this type of environment, especially in the emerging markets. In 2008, we engaged in one of our first projects with the government, which was to provide an identification system, a drug license and a motor vehicle system. The scheme was very successful and is acknowledged in the region as one of the best drug licenses to date. In 2007 and 2008, we also collaborated with a South African company to design a system that helped the government move from a manual system of voter registration to a digital system. It was a real challenge, because in order to access the voters you have to access the whole country, all its locations. So the infrastructure is definitely a major issue in the emerging markets and Mozambique is also facing some tough tests”, says Rogério Samo Gudo.

“The other critical project was to help the government with its external tax reform. So we have partnered with AGS, one of the leading global companies, to design a solution to help the government to solve one of its critical problems. Mozambique is a country that imports the majority of its goods, which means that there is a substantial amount of income to the government that ought to derive from external taxes. So we accepted the challenge and we have designed a system called the Single Electronic Window (SeW), a concept borrowed from Singapore. Today, it is a product of which the government is very proud, and it is using this platform to leverage for other areas that still need reform, especially in terms of internal tax. So the government is currently looking at how it can leverage on this to also cover another strategic area. These are our experiences within the ICT industry, and we are prepared above all to engage ourselves with new projects”, he adds.