An interesting, and apparently continent-wide, communications deal has been announced involving the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) and Spanish technology services company Lleida.net.
The framework agreement will allow the 55 postal companies in all African countries to offer digital postal services through Lleida.net’s registered electronic communications technology.
Lleida.net describes itself as Europe's leading digital signature company. This deal will enable African postal services to use Lleida.net's registered electronic communications technology, delivering registered digital communications with legal and commercial admissibility. The communications can, in other words, be used as evidence in courts of justice and public administrations, according to the Spanish company, which already has a strong presence in Africa.
In fact Lleida.net is a key provider of registered electronic communications in the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Botswana, Malawi, and South Africa, among other territories. It says it has enjoyed success in the South African market for many years.
Lleida.net adds that it is helping postal services to provide, in a digital world, the same or greater value than paper-based communications had in the past.
Established in 1980, the Pan-African Postal Union is an international organisation under the African Union, created to coordinate the 55 postal services across the continent and to drive postal innovation.
Lleida.net signed the agreement through its subsidiary Lleidanet SaaS Middle East and Africa DMCC, with the support of eGate, the company's partner in North Africa.