Estonian E-Business Register selected as First Place Winner for the 2015 United Nations Public Service Award

The Centre of Register and Information Systems (RIK) was selected as First Place Winner for the 2015 United Nations Public Service Award in the category of "Promoting Whole of Government Approaches in the Information Age” for the initiative “e-Business Register”.

The submitted Estonian initiative included in addition to the Estonian Company Registration Portal, the XBRL Annual Reporting System, Visualized Business Register and Estonian e-Business Register information system.

According to the director of RIK, Mr. Mehis Sihvart, by developing the e-Business Register, RIK aimed to simplify the lives of entrepreneurs and provide efficient e-governance services.

“The introduction of the e-Business Register’s Company Registration Portal has fundamentally changed how companies are established and communicate with the government in Estonia. Sharing best-practices inspires also others and sets an example for the creation of new e-solutions in other countries”, says Mr. Sihvart.

The overall purpose of the UNPSA programme is to reward the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions in countries worldwide, thereby motivating the innovators. The awards are handed out in four categories and winners are decided by region: Africa, Asia and the Pacific; Europe and North America; Latin America and the Caribbean; and Western Asia. In Europe and North America, in addition to the Estonian e-Business Register initiative, Latvia was awarded the Second Place for the “Rural Support Service” initiative.

The United Nations Public Service Award (UNPSA) has been handed out for over ten years. In 2015, the UNPSA Programme received a total of 848 entries.

More information on the 2015 Programme.