June 2024 – NGI Sargasso

An NGI Sargasso Innovator Creates the World's First Platform Offering Public Administration as a Service and Digitizes Public Institutions in Romania

The NGI Sargasso Open Call 2 innovator Alexandru Panait, from AI Professional Software Solution (Romania) has founded Gov-Smart, the world's first platform offering public administration as a service, digitalizing public institutions in Romania.

Alexandru applied to our second open call, and got selected in two projects:

DES: Decentralized Electronic Signature using Blockchain based Digital Identity, developed with VizLore LLC (USA).
Trustless Democracy: Decentralized Digital Sovereign Identity and Voting System using Blockchain Technology, developed with Université de Sherbrooke (Canada).

While working at the NGI Sargasso 9-month OnCampus Program, with Gov-Smart, he has launched an innovative solution that promises to transform public administration in Romania through complete digitization and advanced automation.

By implementing interconnected modules specific to each type of institution, the company aims to automate up to 90% of public servants' work, significantly reducing repetitive tasks and improving administrative efficiency, not only in relation to taxpayers. With the Gov-Smart solution, citizens will be able to instantly obtain fiscal attestation certificates or other types of documents from any local administration connected to the service, thus eliminating waiting times and unnecessary travel. By the end of the year, the company will integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into the platform, taking automation to an impressive level of 99%.

In this scenario, public servants will become auditors and approvers of AI-prepared documents, not just executors. Moreover, internal procedures of public institutions can also be automated and personalized.

The new Gov-Smart platform includes a transparency module that displays detailed charts about public spending, performed acquisitions, and job announcements for all local administrations in Romania. Standardized forms facilitate citizens' access to information and allow them to submit requests based on Law 544 if the desired information is not available.

Gov-Smart's founder, Alexandru Panait, has extensive experience in cybersecurity, particularly in the public administration sector.

The NGI Sargasso funding program support to create Gov-Smart

Gov-Smart modernizes the existing portal e-primariaTa.ro, also founded by Alexandru Panait in 2020. With the help of European Commission funding, of up to 200,000€ (up to 100,000€ per each of his two selected projects), through NGI Sargasso, the platform is a global solution with the potential to become Romania's second unicorn.

“We are proud to launch the world's first Governance as a Service concept. To demonstrate the scalability of our solution, we have managed to integrate 3.187 local administrations in Romania into the platform, standardizing and making their activities transparent. This step represents a major leap towards efficient and transparent public administration, offering citizens quick and easy access to public interest information or obtaining documents in a very short time. We are already in discussions with authorities from other European countries and even the USA to implement this modern service,” says Alexandru Panait, Founder of Gov-Smart.

Through this innovation, Gov-Smart aims to create a business-friendly environment for investors and open new business opportunities, while ensuring an efficient, transparent, and citizen-oriented public administration, as Alexandru explained in an interview in the Romanian television.

https://youtu.be/Zlnkid8SDOk?feature=shared

Alexandru Panait also participated as a speaker at the PeakIT Conference, the first technical conference in Brașov (Romania) from the IT community to the IT community.

The NGI Sargasso selected projects: DES and Trustless Democracy

The DES project (Decentralized Electronic Signature using Blockchain based Digital Identity), under the NGI Sargasso support programme, seeks to create a groundbreaking decentralized electronic signature system using blockchain technology. Integrated with Gov-Smart, it will enable citizens to generate secure digital signatures, verified and authenticated through a robust blockchain framework. This initiative promises to revolutionize public sector transactions, offering unparalleled security, transparency, and efficiency.

Challenging the traditional concept that democracy is limited to voting every four years, the Trustless Democracy project, (Decentralized Digital Sovereign Identity and Voting System using Blockchain Technology), employs cutting-edge blockchain technology and zero-knowledge proofs to facilitate continuous, cost-free electoral participation. This initiative integrates secure digital identities and an innovative open-source voting system, designed to significantly boost citizen efficiency and involvement in democratic processes. Their first implementation will be through Gov-Smart.

You can have a look at other NGI Sargasso innovators projects to discover how they are creating an Internet of Trust.

by admin

NGI Sargasso Launches its Open Call 4 for Innovators Ready to Unleash the Future of the Internet with up to €100K Equity-free Funding

The NGI Sargasso consortium is happy to start the month of June with one more funding opportunity: today we are launching our Open Call 4 looking for innovators to reshape the Internet of the Future with up to €100,000 equity-free funding, until the 1st of August, 2024.

Startups and SMEs, universities and research centres, and NGOs and foundations focused on Next Generation Internet (NGI) technologies can bring their visionary ideas to life with the NGI Sargasso Open Call 4, on topics such as trust and data sovereignty, digital identity, internet architecture renovation, decentralized technologies, and standards.

We will attract teams formed by one entity from Europe or one of its Associated Countries and one entity from the US or Canada, since at NGI Sargasso we are fostering a unique collaborative ecosystem and cascade funding program for promoting the Transatlantic cooperation to shape the Internet of the Future:

Europeans can apply here.
US and Canadians can apply here.

The NGI Sargasso Open Call 4 benefits

The benefits for the NGI Sargasso Transatlantic teams selected in our fourth open call willing to unleash future Internet with a human-centric approach are:

Various capacity-building programs:

9-month program with up to €100,000 equity-free funding.
6-month program with up to €75,000 equity-free funding.
3-month program with up to €50,000 equity-free funding.

Comprehensive Support, such as mentoring, coaching, and access to leading tech conferences and innovation summits.
Community Engagement with free access to a dynamic community of over 3,000 Internet innovators.

https://youtu.be/zT9p936KK_A

The NGI Sargasso Open Call 4 Info Webinars and Matchmaking Sessions dates

The first step to apply for NGI Sargasso Open Call 4 is to register in our Brokerage System, a platform where European entities can be matched with the US or Canadian ones – or the other way around. The application process is as follows:

Registration in the Brokerage Platform to match your Transatlantic partner.
Sign a Letter Support with your Transatlantic partner and draft your project together.
Submit your joint application on the NGI Sargasso website – the European counterpart.

The Brokerage System services offered by NGI Sargasso to facilitate the Transatlantic matchmaking is complemented and completed with two info webinars and matchmaking sessions per call:

Open Call 4 Info Webinar and Matchmaking Session I - 11 June - REGISTER HERE.
Open Call 4 Info Webinar and Matchmaking Session II - 9 July - REGISTER HERE.

These webinars are perfect for those looking to make quick, informed decisions about potential partners and to gain insights into the latest trends and opportunities in the NGI Sargasso space and to clear all doubts about the application process.

Don't miss this opportunity to apply for our Open Call 4 and secure up to €100,000 equity-free funding to build an Internet of Trust. Save your spot for our matchmaking events now!