Evdeqal platform launched in the Republic of Maldives
Within the framework of joint cooperation between the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, the Business Center Corporation, the UNDP office in Azerbaijan and the Maldives Representation, the platform Evdeqal was launched in the Republic of Maldives. Evdeqal is an online platform that provides services, resources and information from a single source for individuals, families, students, businesses and other target groups during the coronavirus pandemic.
The main goal of the platform is to educate people about how important it is to protect their health not to leave home when there is no need for it, to provide easy access to digital services to meet the daily needs of the population.
Based on UNDP’s global experience, the Maldives office initially supported the National Disaster Management Centre of the Republic of Maldives in re-implementing similar initiatives in the country and applying these innovative digital solutions in the local context. This led to the establishment of cooperation between the UNDP office in the Maldives, the Business Center Corporation and Azerbaijan, the export of the Evdeqal platform and its local application in the Republic of Maldives.
Head of the Innovations and Digital Development Department of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan Rashad Azizov noted that COVID-19 caused serious problems for both people and the economies: “The pandemic has increased the demand for digital technologies and infrastructure. For millions of people, technology has become the only way to work, study and communicate with loved ones. A similar situation has arisen in Azerbaijan. Considering that more than a million students in the country have switched to online learning and thousands of employees work from home, the platform Evdeqal.az has helped both individuals and small businesses in these difficult times. Therefore, we plan to further develop this platform and bring it to the next stage.
“COVID-19 has highlighted the implications of the digital divide and has shown the potential for closer cooperation between countries. To help people and the economies recover from the pandemic, we need to significantly increase the speed and scale of digital solutions, and this is the initiative that we are trying to implement through Evdeqal,” said Alessandro Fracassetti, UNDP Resident Representative in Azerbaijan.
According to UNDP Resident Representative to the Maldives Akiko Fujii, the platform Evdeqal for COVID-19 will serve the public by providing easy access to vital information and services.
According to the Business Center Corporation, one of the project implementers, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of business activities managed from home has increased, and this trend is expected to continue in the post-pandemic period. According to the information, in the current difficult situation, the situation for new startups is becoming difficult. The market for such businesses is often confined to the social circle of entrepreneurs, and most attempts to build a brand go unnoticed by the broader potential target audience. Given the large number of potential beneficiaries and the need for such a website, this initiative was launched in the Maldives.
It should be noted that the website Evdeqal, launched in Azerbaijan in April 2020, is a digital platform developed in partnership with the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies and the UNDP office in Azerbaijan. The goal was to meet the country’s growing demand for daily online services and information resources during the pandemic. The website allows users to search for local sources as well as information on a range of important services such as online shopping, e-learning, healthcare, entertainment, food and delivery. In addition to the latest COVID-19 news and indicators and recommendations for preventive measures, it also provides information, guidance and other support services such as blog posts on emerging digital sourcing trends.
