Launch of Global Business Identity Initiative to Boost Financial Inclusion for African SMEs

Source: IT Web

An international flagship project designed to expand financial inclusion among small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) especially on the African continent has launched today. The project has been realized with the support of the German Federal Government through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

The collaborative initiative is equipping SMEs across Africa with globally recognized business identities, in the form of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs). The LEI is comparable to an international company ID card; it contains good quality business card and ownership structure information about a legal entity which can be verified quickly and efficiently by anyone, anywhere, enabling organizations to know precisely with whom they are doing business. The verifiable company data results in transparency in the marketplace and builds greater trust between market participants.