IT Services Used To Help Rebuild War-Torn NationsIT Services Used To Help Rebuild War-Torn Nations

For one Canadian software and services company, doing good is good business. FreeBalance Inc., an Ottawa-based developer of financial applications for government agencies, works with the United Nations and other international organizations to provide IT products and services to help rebuild war-torn nations such as Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and East Timor.

With funding from the Canadian International Development Agency, FreeBalance said last week that it will deploy $2.4 million (Canadian) worth of its software and services to various agencies of the Kosovo government. FreeBalance eFinancials will be used by the nation's treasury, tax administration, budgeting, revenue, customs, and procurement departments, among others. The rollout extends a U.N.-administered pilot project last year that deployed the financial-management application in Kosovo's Central Fiscal Authority. Most of the country's infrastructure was destroyed during the 10-year war with Serbia.

FreeBalance began targeting the emerging nations market about two years ago, working with the United Nations as well the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the International Monetary Fund. Its core market, though, remains Canadian and American government agencies, including the U.S. departments of Defense, Education, State, and Education.