Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, stressed the ministry’s interest in developing and strengthening the digital economy in Bahrain, underscoring the focus on initiatives that contribute to enhancing the digital transformation of the commercial sector, ensuring protection for consumers. He also underlined keenness to regulate e-commerce platforms and their affiliated activities, to reduce fraud in the sector.
The minister made the statements during the inauguration of the eCommerce Seal (eFada) by the Information Systems Directorate at the Industry and Commerce Ministry. "eFada" allows granting a seal to e-commerce platforms, after they have met the registration requirements, without paying fees.
The minister said that eFada confirms to the user that the online store is registered and active within the records of the ministry, and is authorised to practise e-commerce, which contributes to enhancing consumer confidence.
Fakhro elaborated that the eFada service is within the initiatives of the eCommerce National Strategy that aims to create an integrated environment for e-commerce platforms and encourage companies and commercial institutions to switch to electronic commerce and expand the scope of their electronic transactions, thus contributing to advancing the growth of the national economy.
eFada Seal can be obtained after fulfilling a number of requirements, including having an active commercial registry, active e-commerce store or platform, and providing a secure electronic payment method, clear return and exchange policy, user data protection policy, an activated shopping cart on the platform, and delivery service to customers.
The ministry called on establishments wishing to obtain the free eFada seal to submit an application at https://service.moic.gov.bh/eFada, and for inquiries via e-mail at ecom@moic.gov.bh or calling 17574888.
Source: Bahrain News Agency