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Facedrive Inc. (" Facedrive ") (TSXV: FD), (OTC:FD) a Canadian "people-and-planet first" technology ecosystem, is pleased to announce that TraceSCAN, the COVID-19 contact tracing solution developed by Facedrive Health, will be implemented as a pilot project (the " Implementation ") by the Waywayseecappo First Nation (" Waywayseecappo ") located in Western Manitoba. Waywayseecappo is an Ojibway First Nation and member of the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council. First Nations have been hit by the pandemic outbreak especially hard, and Waywayseecappo is taking a hands-on approach in implementing a cutting-edge technological solution to combat the advance of COVID-19 virus in their community. Upon completion of the pilot, the Company's intention is for the Implementation to serve as a blueprint for other First Nations.
First Nations communities are seeing an alarming increase in the number of newly reported cases of COVID-19 during the second wave of the pandemic, with 1,071 new cases reported in the week ending December 5 th, 2020 alone ( https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/government-of-canada-covid-19-update-for-indigenous-peoples-and-communities-866503022.html ). Technologies such as Facedrive's TraceSCAN contact-tracing solution can play a particularly crucial role among communities afflicted by a lack of resources or healthcare facilities. Moreover, many First Nations communities have data connectivity issues, rendering app-based solutions considerably less effective. However, TraceSCAN's cutting-edge Bluetooth wearable technology enables it to perform the contact tracing function without use of a mobile device.
The Implementation is expected to begin prior to the end of the year, and is expected to last at least 30 days. The engagement with Waywayseecappo comes immediately on the heels of Phil Fontaine's appointment as a Strategic Advisor to Facedrive to help further the company's ESG mandate across its health, rideshare, food delivery, marketplace and communication platform verticals. An aboriginal Canadian leader and former three-term National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Mr. Fontaine is an articulate advocate for the future of Canada's indigenous peoples. Mr. Fontaine will continue to play an essential role in liaising with the Waywayseecappo community and communicating the needs of the reservation to Facedrive. Should TraceSCAN be implemented by other First Nations communities, it is expected that Mr. Fontaine will also play a similar role.
"We are happy to offer the TraceSCAN contact-tracing services to the Waywayseecappo First Nation, it is the first Indigenous nation to implement our wearable solution to protect its citizens and help stop the spread of COVID-19. We realize the responsibility and importance of equipping each and every Canadian with adequate response tools to promote health and safety as the second wave of the pandemic intensifies," said Sayan Navaratnam, Chairman and CEO of Facedrive. "As an ESG ecosystem, we see our critical mission in offering essential and time-critical health solutions to the vulnerable strata of our society. Upon successful execution of this pilot project, we see massive potential to offer the TraceSCAN technology to over 1.6M Indigenous community citizens in Canada alone".
About the Waywayseecappo First Nation
The Waywayseecappo First Nation is located 32 km east of Russell in Manitoba, Canada. The First Nation's is 10,059 hectares and is located near the southwestern corner of the Riding Mountain National Park. It is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Rossburn and the Rural Municipality of Silver Creek. The First Nation also holds interest together with 32 other First Nations on the 37.1 hectare Treaty Four Reserve Grounds (Indian Reserve No. 77), located adjacent to Fort Qu'Appelle. Its population was 1,219 in 2011. There are various businesses located in the Birdtail valley near PTH 45, such as a gas station, RCMP station, food mart, gaming centre, health centre, daycare, and community arena complex.
About Facedrive
Facedrive is a multi-faceted "people-and-planet first" tech ecosystem offering socially-responsible services to local communities with a strong commitment to doing business fairly, equitably and sustainably. As part of this commitment, Facedrive's vision is to fulfil its mandate through a number of verticals that either leverage existing technologies of the Company or project synergies with existing lines of business (the " Facedrive Verticals "). The Facedrive Verticals include its rideshare business (" Facedrive Rideshare "), sustainable e-commerce platform (" Facedrive Marketplace "), food-delivery service (" Facedrive Foods "), e-social platform (" Facedrive Social ") and its contact-tracing and sustainable health services business (" Facedrive Health ").
Facedrive Rideshare was among the first to offer a wide variety of environmentally and socially responsible solutions in the Transportation as a Service (TaaS) space, planting thousands of trees based on user consumption and offering choices between electric, hybrid and conventional vehicles (including, more recently, electric and hybrid vehicles on a subscription basis through Steer). Facedrive Marketplace offers curated merchandise created from sustainably sourced materials. Facedrive Foods offers contactless delivery of a wide variety of foods right to consumers' doorsteps, with a focus on doing so in a socially and environmentally-conscious manner. Facedrive Social strives to keep people connected in a physically-distanced world through its HiQ and other e-socialization platforms that invite users to interact based on common interests and by offering gamification and mutual community support features. Facedrive Health strives to develop and offer innovative technological solutions to the most acute health challenges including its proprietary TraceSCAN wearable technology for contact tracing. Facedrive envisions changing the ridesharing, food delivery, e-commerce, social and health tech narratives for the better, for everyone, and is currently operational in Canada and the United States.
For more about Facedrive, visit www.facedrive.com .
Facedrive Inc.
100 Consilium Pl, Unit 400, Scarborough, ON, Canada M1H 3E3
www.facedrive.com
Forward-Looking Information
Certain information in this press release contains forward-looking information. This information is based on management's reasonable assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to us and are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results (such as the success of the pilot or the adoption of TraceSCAN by other First Nations) and the timing of events may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors. Information regarding our expectations of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which we operate is forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances. Many factors could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
See "Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" in Facedrive's Filing Statement dated August 28, 2019 for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. Readers are urged to consider the uncertainties, risks and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. We have no intention and undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities law.
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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201223005266/en/
Media Contact: Sana Srithas | sana@facedrive.com
Sayan Navaratnam
Chief Executive Officer and Director
Tel: 1-888-300-2228
Image 1: Waroona Project – Debt Financing Process and indicative timing