Medici Land Governance, an Overstock Subsidiary, Signs MOU With Government of Rwanda to Implement Paperless Blockchain Land G...
November 01 2018 - 9:00AM
Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) has announced that its
blockchain-meets-property rights subsidiary, Medici Land
Governance, has signed its second Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with an African nation to develop a blockchain-based platform to
manage land governance and property rights. This latest MOU has
been signed with the Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority
(RLMUA) and the Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA) to
implement Medici Land Governance’s technology to move Rwanda to a
paperless, secure, corruption-proof, blockchain-based system of
land governance.
Medici Land Governance (MLG) will help Rwanda’s government
incorporate blockchain and other technologies into its existing
systems, developing a paperless system that relies on electronic
signatures and digital lodging of surveys for the administrative
processes that affect land rights and transfers. This system will
facilitate increased direct interaction among government entities
and private landowners, utilizing the decentralized and distributed
blockchain to ensure secure transfer of assets and records.
MLG will also help Rwandan officials refine existing land
governance processes, including streamlining the links among the
relevant courts, government registries, and public institutions. In
addition, MLG will create interfaces with the country’s tax
authorities and the country’s existing land administration
information system to ensure smooth workflows, and to reduce and
eliminate delays in processing.
Plans for the full scope of the project include developing a
blockchain-based platform with mobile capabilities, including
payments. The platform will accommodate streamlined regulations and
data collection to assist government decisions around city planning
and land use. The MOU will be in force for one year and includes
options for six-month extensions up to a duration of two years.
“We are encouraged by the prospect of working with Rwanda, which
clearly understands the value of establishing the rights of land
ownership as an essential incentive for bolstering agricultural
productivity and sustained investment for long-term economic
growth,” said Medici Land Governance CEO, Dr. Ali El Husseini. “At
Medici Land Governance, we appreciate the clear objectives and
strategic road map the Rwandan government has outlined toward
economic empowerment. By using our expertise in blockchain, mobile
apps, and other technologies, we can help Rwanda fulfill the goals
of its major land reform efforts in standardizing land ownership on
a digital, secure, user-friendly system that provides equal access
for all people in a timely, responsive manner.”
Rwanda is among the most densely populated countries in
sub-Saharan Africa, and has a young, mostly rural population. The
country initiated its first land reform efforts in 2004 by taking
steps to streamline the processing and handling of land titles.
Rwanda’s use of local para-surveyors to define plot boundaries has
helped propel the nation to a fourth-place ranking in “measurement
of the ease of registering property” according to the 2017 World
Bank’s Doing Business Index. However, while millions of land
transactions have been processed since that time, only a small
percentage of these transactions have been officially registered.
This discrepancy suggests that many informal sales and acquisitions
by inheritance or birth rights are still occurring.
“This agreement with the Rwandan government creates an
outstanding opportunity to show how blockchain can be used to lift
people out of poverty,” said Dr. Patrick M. Byrne, Chairman of
Medici Land Governance and founder and CEO of parent company,
Overstock.com. “Rwanda has made tremendous progress in
standardizing land claims by maintaining a land registry that eases
the process of doing business in Rwanda. I believe solving that
problem will trigger a cascade of positive developments: so much
capital will be liberated into the hands of the poor, and they will
lift themselves out of poverty. We look forward to bringing the
benefits of blockchain to the poor across Africa and the
globe.”
MLG was founded in 2018 as a portfolio company of Medici
Ventures, Overstock’s blockchain technology accelerator. MLG’s
mission is to help individuals around the world connect with the
global economy by using blockchain and other technologies to help
record rightful ownership of property.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc. Common Shares (NASDAQ:OSTK) / Series A
Preferred (Medici Ventures’ tZERO platform: OSTKP) / Series B
Preferred (OTCQX:OSTBP) is an online retailer based in Salt Lake
City, Utah that sells a broad range of products at low prices,
including furniture, décor, rugs, bedding, and home improvement. In
addition to home goods, Overstock.com offers a variety of products
including jewelry, electronics, apparel, and more, as well as a
marketplace providing customers access to hundreds of thousands of
products from third-party sellers. Additional stores include Pet
Adoptions and Worldstock.com, dedicated to selling artisan-crafted
products from around the world. Forbes ranked Overstock in its list
of the Top 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in 2014. Overstock
regularly posts information about the company and other related
matters under Investor Relations on its website, Overstock.com.
About Medici Ventures:
Launched in 2014, Medici Ventures is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Overstock.com, Inc., created to leverage blockchain technology
to solve real-world problems with transparent, efficient and secure
solutions. Medici Ventures has a growing portfolio of
groundbreaking blockchain-focused investments. The company’s
majority-owned financial technology company, tZERO, executed the
world’s first blockchain-based stock offering in December 2016.
O, Overstock.com, O.com, Club O, Main Street
Revolution, and Worldstock are registered trademarks of
Overstock.com, Inc. O.biz and Space Shift are also
trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc. Other service marks, trademarks
and trade names which may be referred to herein are the
property of their respective owners.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such
forward-looking statements include all statements other than
statements of historical fact. Additional information regarding
factors that could materially affect results and the accuracy of
the forward-looking statements contained herein may be found in the
Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, which was
filed with the SEC on May 8, 2018, and any subsequent filings with
the SEC.
SOURCE: Overstock.com, Inc.
Media Contact:pr@overstock.com
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