By Grace Q. Bryant
The Government of Liberia yesterday launched a National Postal Digital Addressing System with SnooCODE Limited in Monrovia.
SnooCODE Limited is a UK-registered and Ghana-based technology company that provides future-ready location-based solutions to power core citizen centric services like Banking, Logistics, e-Commerce and Emergency Services in the developing and developed world.
The SnooCODE digital addressing system provides other cost-saving and safety- increasing features to complete the ecosystem.
Speaking at the program at the headquarters of the Ministry Posts and Telecommunications, one of the technical teams, Derek Laryea, said that the event followed a competitive tender announced by the Ministry in January 2021, to which over 10 interested local and foreign companies responded, with SnooCODE emerging as winner in late 2021.
According to him, the SnooCODE digital addressing system allows anybody in Liberia to generate a memorable 5–7-digit address code unique to their location (e.g., Monrovia 499- GUA), which can be shared with trusted contacts to direct them to their exact location using any mobile phone mapping system of their choice.
“This means that individuals, businesses, and public services from the Ambulance, Post to Waste management, will be able to move about more efficiently and keep accurate records, creating a positive impact on Healthcare, Public Administration, Tourism and Security,” he revealed.
He emphasized that the initiative will create jobs, boost the Liberian economy, empower the Liberian youths to acquire more skills to create their own jobs, and create opportunities for young Liberian technologists and engineers to build on the SnooCODE digital addressing system to create their own novel solutions to some of Liberia’s most pressing problems.
He further explained that the Project will also ensure optimized and efficient emergency response and public health services for rural and urban dwellers, as well as guarantee efficient and effective epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response.
“Starting with Monrovia, SnooCODE can today be downloaded on iOS and android devices. The system’s implementation plan towards covering the whole country is undergoing testing in other cities and towns and this would be communicated by the Ministry in phases,” he noted.
He maintained that plans are also underway to develop a custom integrated solution for Liberia, based on the digital addressing technology, and many Liberian companies and individuals will be given several opportunities to participate in these developments.
“This custom-built solution will power a wide range of industries, including Banking, eCommerce, Delivery Services, Emergency Services, Public Health, Sanitation, and Emerging Technologies like Drones; our flagship product, SnooCODE, is a digital addressing system built to work offline, making it ideal for challenging environments where network connectivity may be unreliable or unavailable,” he added.
These include Error Detection and Correction, High-tech and Smart Plaques, Digital Signing with verification, One- man Drone Launch, and In-vehicle integration, Therefore the system can also be used to verify any information, including proof of residence for bank KYC, vaccine temperatures, and so much more.
The Minister of Post and Telecommunications Minister Cooper Kruah also welcomed the newly App that was developed by SonooCode in addressing the postal sector of Liberia.
According to Minister Cooper Kruah , the partnership is a win-win Saturation for the government of Liberia and its partners in the overall development process of the country.
Minister Kruah added that the Ministry’s Post has been working on this project for three years, and looks forward to his post Family in the overall achievement in the project.
He said this project is expected to last for six years and will benefit the country in many capacities ranging from Health Care, Education and Business among others.
The Liberia Postal General said this Project will help in giving the actual addresses of various homes, major businesses and other public places throughout the country.
He said public private partnership is important in Business and this is why the government of Liberia through the Portal Master have launched the App along with their Development partners and looks forward in seeing more of this in the coming years.
