Interswitch, Cross River to grow revenue

Smartgov platform, the identity management and e-payment infrastructure for Cross River State government has said it plans to increase revenue generation for the state. According to a statement, Smartgov was developed by Interswitch and deployed in 2011 in partnership with the Cross River State Government (CRSG).

The move, the statement said, reflected the state government’s determination to improve governance, accountability and access to social services for citizens, and Interswitch’s position as the leading provider of e-payment technologies in Nigeria. The initiative was delivered through the joint venture company, Smartgov.CRSG Limited.

The company’s managing director, Jonah Adams, said by using Smartgov, state governments are able to automate Ministries, Departments and Agencies, identify all citizens and residents, track and monitor usage of social services, enhance internally generated revenue and automate disbursements and payments by government. This enables the state government to grow revenue, eliminate wastage, simplify governance and increase access to government services.

“The Smartgov project has enabled CRSG to create a state-wide identity management system for residents and corporate bodies in the state (the first state in Sub-Saharan Africa) while biometricbased identity cards have also been issued, providing cardholders with access to healthcare, pension, transportation, educational bursaries, social amenities and social benefits. Smartgov has facilitated the automation of key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), revenue sources and services and the reduction of government processing cost,” he said.

Mitchell Elegbe, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch Transnational, said the success of Smartgov in Cross River State has given the organisation greater determination to roll out their solution across all state governments in Nigeria.