Webb Fontaine celebrates 20th anniversary

Webb Fontaine marks its 20^th anniversary this month.

In 2002, a group of leaders in their respective fields and early adopters of new technologies came together to form Webb Fontaine. Its goal was clear: to improve the Customs and Trade environment by providing government agencies and commercial enterprises with cutting-edge technology and knowledge. The Customs solutions, the company’s starting point, was the inspiration for its first solutions. The market demanded cutting-edge innovations that would improve efficiency and security. What Webb Fontaine’s Customs solutions did was that and more.

“Our Customs solutions were developed to address fundamental issues that Customs departments all around the world were experiencing” Alioune Ciss, CEO Webb Fontaine

First deployed in Nigeria with its partnership with Nigeria Customs Service. Playing a proud role in one of the regions most advanced Customs environments underpinning millions of Nigerian imports and exports a year. Still today enabling Customs revenue collection to continue on an upward trend despite the threat posed by Covid-19 and other such industry challenges.

Following the success of its Customs solutions in multiple countries it was apparent that the Trade industry as a whole could not continue to develop and keep up with demand without fundamental advancements and investments in Trade technology as a whole. The Trade eco-system was operating in a fragmented and suboptimal manner producing severe and costly delays, loss of Customs revenues and mis-management of risks.

Webb Fontaine focused its efforts on this investing heavily in its research and development capabilities. In order to support the development and expansion of its portfolio of products. The company was determined to produce solutions that not only used the latest technology, but covered nearly the entire spectrum of Trade. Today Webb Fontaine operates 5 state-of-the-art R&D facilities around the world. These centres of excellence continue to recruit the best minds in the industry to develop innovative products and services in line with the demands of modern international trade. Today, more than 300 highly talented and well-qualified individuals work at these research centres and play a crucial role in the consistent growth of the company’s portfolio of products.

Webb Fontaine’s solutions, deployed in several countries across the globe are now a fully integrated portfolio. Underpinned by AI these include Single Window Operations,  Customs Systems, Electronic Payment Gateways, AI Based Risk Management, Port Community Systems, Governmental Reforms, Trade Compliance, IT Infrastructure Development, Automated Goods Tracking & Classification, Cargo Management Systems, and many more.

“Our portfolio was developed with the goal of fostering widespread access to critical Trade technology, all of our products are fully transferable to our partners, support various languages, and can be utilised in developed and undeveloped Trade environments. All these years of investment and R&D have paid off, providing us a really unique portfolio that we can confidently roll out in almost any setting.” Samy Zayani, Chief Commercial Officer of Webb Fontaine

Over the years, Webb Fontaine has enjoyed many collaborations with the forward-thinking governments of Bahrain, Benin, Niger, Egypt, Nepal, Abu Dhabi, Panama, Nigeria, and Ajman among others.

The development of its solutions continues having recently launched a state-of-the-art AI-powered Integrated Risk Management (IRM) Service in Egypt in partnership with Misr Technology Services.

As the company observes its 20^th anniversary, the dedication to build the future of trade through technology remains as strong as ever.

“We have never wavered from our mission to empower governments and Trade entities with future-proof technology and expertise that will change the Customs and Trade environment for the better.

In recent years, international Trade has been under a great deal of pressure. Technology is vital throughout the trade ecosystem to counteract industry threats to continue to keep Trade flowing efficiently, effectively and continuously.

We now have 25 entities across the world, with nearly 1000 employees of which 30% of those are dedicated to R&D.

We’re committed to expanding our efforts around the world so that everyone who engages with Trade can benefit from the many revolutionary solutions we continue to build, develop, deploy and transfer.” Alioune Ciss, CEO of Webb Fontaine