Fulfilling the Promise of the Digital Age
Investments from angels and venture capitalists fuel innovation and founders even as domestic and foreign direct investments expand manufacturing and services industries, creating millions of digital jobs and boosting global GDP growth with high-income wages. As the alliance of the global tech industry, WITSA plays a catalytic role in fostering the growth of the global digital economy by:
Advocating policies that advance industry growth and development, as well as facilitating international trade and investment in digital technology products and services
Organizing the annual World Congress on Innovation and Technology (WCIT), which brings together global technology leaders, policy makers, corporate users, industry experts, talent and investors to explore, connect, discuss and showcase the latest innovations and trends in innovation and technology
Recognizing the entities that made the most significant contributions to mankind in the digital field through the WITSA Global Innovation and Tech Excellence Awards
Providing publications and reports on various aspects of the digital economy, such as digital dividends, tech spending, communications outlook, and internet economy
As the leading recognized voice of the global tech industry, WITSA works with its members to undertake initiatives that drive, facilitate or advocate for the development of key factors that contribute towards fulfilling the promise of the digital age. These include:
The importance of realizing the potential value of digital transformation cannot be overstated. Benefits of digital transformation are not guaranteed.
Digital transformation is underway but not fully understood.
Without action and collaboration, digital transformation will not, by itself, lead to broadly-shared prosperity and growth.
WITSA calls on its members to engage with their national governments to ensure that the digital transformation will be a powerful force for the common good, valuing humans as an asset in the jobs market, fostering innovation, matching job skills with the needs of the new economy, bridging the digital gap in underserved populations, and promoting trust and security as well as driving businesses to create products that consumers rave about.
Governments must remove barriers and encourage a market-driven approach to policy focused on innovation, market competition, free flow of information across borders, mobility of skilled workers, research and development and investment in transformative technologies.
WITSA strongly urges governments to promote digital entrepreneurship by redoubling their efforts to foster national policies that support new and transformative businesses as well as international competitiveness.
WITSA acts as a catalyst for the global tech industry to explore, access, and capitalize on global opportunities. Through its various activities and initiatives, WITSA enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and business growth, empowering its members and tech companies to thrive in the global tech landscape.
WITSA's Global Solutions showcase the exceptional contributions of its members and award winners, highlighting the innovative tech solutions they have developed to tackle a wide range of issues and problems. By harnessing the power of information technology, these solutions have revolutionized industries, transformed communities, and made a positive difference in people's lives across the globe.
WITSA's Global Solutions serve as platforms for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and inspiration. They bring together the best minds in the global technology community to address complex problems and drive sustainable development. By recognizing the achievements of its members and award winners, WITSA inspires others to push the boundaries of innovation, foster digital inclusion and create a brighter future for all.
These innovations address critical issues, transform industries, and create a positive impact on societies and individuals globally. Through collaboration and knowledge sharing, WITSA aims to help catalyze the advancement of technology and empower communities to thrive in the digital age.
This award was given to BenefitPay, a mobile e-wallet with a focus on financial inclusion of diverse segments of users and to go with the national and global strategy of a cashless society in the Kingdom of Bahrain.BenefitPay has become an integral part of people’s everyday lives, providing a convenient and secure mobile payment service that is used and trusted in Bahrain. BenefitPay has aggregated banks in Bahrain, exchange houses (remittance), petrol stations payment, point of sale and real time account to account transfers, in addition to both Government and private sector billers. Today the app is used by all segments in society, starting from mega enterprises, reaching home businesses, food trucks and micro retails. It is safe to say that the app has made a paradigm shift in the payment services, a technological disruption of the sector and change in society payment habits and practices. This is evident in the increased volume and value of transactions in the past year as included in the supporting documents.Today BenefitPay is used by more than 1 million users in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which has a population of 1.5 million.
Since its launch in 2017, the e-wallet has undergone many user-experience enhancements and additions of new features; perhaps the most significant enhancement was the May 2023 BenefitPay Revamp Campaign.Notably, BenefitPay has launched its new Identity Verification (IDV) feature. This state-of-the-art technology represents a significant advancement in security protocols, empowering BenefitPay users with enhanced protection and ensuring a frictionless payment journey. The IDV feature brings substantial advantages for both BenefitPay and its users by employing a robust two-step authentication process to validate the authenticity of BenefitPay users.
ACI Worldwide, Real-Time Payment Report 2022 highlighted that Bahrain ranks 2nd Globally and 1st in Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia in real-time payment. The same report also forecasts that Bahrain will be the first globally in consumer adoption of real-time payment transactions. This status is reached as a result of the ease of access to real payment solutions that BenefitPay app is providing.
BenefitPay has been recognized by different prestigious awards to name some:
- Bahrain eGov Excellence Award 2021 – BenefitPay (private sector category)
- Bahrain Digital Content Award 2023 – BenefitPay (Fintech category)
