FIFCO, a Costa Rican company with more than 100 years of history dedicated to produce and distribute food and beverages, has held three shareholders' meetings with the EHolders platform.
FIFCO’s Legal Manager, Isaac Salazar Castro, tells how has been the experience with the EVoting platform since 2021 and with which they have already carried out 3 processes.
What were you looking for in EVoting?
We were looking for a service that complied with the regulations and that would allow us to hold a shareholders’ meeting. We needed a system that was real-time, bilateral, that could even be recorded; that there would be two-way shareholder participation and that complied with all the legislation to be able to hold a shareholders’ meeting.
Something that we found quite good about EVoting, and that in fact is still in place, is the flexibility and availability to make adjustments and changes. It is also a system that we consider quite friendly and easy to use, especially because among FIFCO’s shareholders there are many people who are older and may not be so tech-savvy, but the service is easy. And, above all, a cost that was reasonable in the market and that would allow us to comply with what we need.
What do you think is the main advantage of electronic processes over traditional processes?
The electronic process provides greater transparency in a democratic process, such as a shareholders’ meeting, in which all shareholders have, according to the shares they own, the right to vote. It also allows greater participation of shareholders because they can enter the meeting from wherever they are and do not need to go to a physical location. Also, the limitations that Covid brought us were complicated to hold a meeting.
Undoubtedly, virtuality is a topic that is here to stay and we are happy to be able to develop it, especially with a provider such as EVoting, which works quite well.
How do you evaluate the security of EVoting’s platforms?
As a publicly traded company, we have to comply with a great deal of transparency. So, as part of the process, EVoting is audited, not necessarily by us, but by an external company. They audit the process and guarantee that it is transparent, safe, democratic, and we also do it internally, understanding the possibilities offered by virtuality and all the processes we have developed.
So, we consider that it is a very transparent, democratic and safe process, which is the most important thing for this type of agreement and shareholder votes.
What do you think of EVoting’s support?
It has been a good support system and there was enough agility, speed, transparency and democracy in all the services provided by EVoting.