Changing the world, one vote at a time

As the Strate e-Voting platform reaches yet another milestone, this time by processing/hosting? Absa Investor Services’ first virtual shareholder meeting, the significant governance, transparency and shareholder engagement benefits of the platform are once again in the spotlight.

Using global technology provider Nasdaq’s blockchain technology to provide real-time voting, auditable voting records, real‐time access to results, accurate records and the full chain of proxies, the system provides benefits for shareholders, custodians, issuers and financial regulators.

“Strate’s e-Voting platform was designed to create shared value for the financial market ecosystem. Shareholders have greater control and visibility of the voting process and, importantly, better participation as they can be located anywhere in the world. E-Voting supports the relationship between shareholders, custodians and issuers and improves governance, which benefits financial regulators,” says Gregory Naicker, Head of CSD Services at Strate.

For listed companies, Strate’s solution requires no human intervention whatsoever. Auditing is undertaken by externally appointed auditors using the immutable ledger (blockchain technology) to underpin accuracy and security.

Developing the system was a collaboration between Strate and financial market participants, including banks, fund managers and other issuers.

“Strate and the South African financial market have together created a secure, efficient solution that will forever change shareholder voting. We are excited for Absa Investor Services now being able to use this new technology, which is perfectly suited to the current dynamic ways of work,” says Naicker.

Strate continues on its journey of serving the financial markets by working with companies to improve their business operations and shareholder engagement using the e-Voting platform.

For further information, the team can be contacted on e-Votingteam@strate.co.za.