Gabon, World Bank ink $68.5M digital finance agreement

The Government of Gabon and the World Bank have signed a US$68.5 million loan for the Digital Gabon Project.

The project aims to accelerate the adoption of digitalized public services and increase the number of people with a unique identity (ID), facilitating inclusive access to public services in the central African country.

The World Bank said in a statement that the project also aimed to improve the legal, regulatory, and technological foundations for data protection, cyber security, and data interchange in the public sector to drive digital transformation.

It added that the project will help modernize the country's legal ID systems while digitizing the civil registration system and providing a unique ID that facilitates inclusive access to public services.

"Gabonese citizens will have better access to public services such as social protection, health insurance, public procurement, and human resource management information systems," the statement said.

Cheick Kante, World Bank country director for Gabon, said the country has made considerable progress in high-speed broadband digital infrastructure.

"Moving forward, this operation will support the country's digital transformation, which is critical to promote opportunities for all Gabonese citizens and residents," Kante continued.

African digital transformation deals

The Gabon deal comes at a time when many African countries and companies are signing deals with international organizations to further their digital transformation ambitions.

In August 2023, Safaricom Ethiopia closed a $257 million deal with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) – members of the World Bank Group.

Many African countries are signing deals with international organizations to accelerate their digital transformation strategies. (Source: Image by Freepik)

This was after Safaricom announced in June 2023 that the IFC would become an investor in the Global Partnership for Ethiopia (GPE) consortium.

The IFC promised a $157.4 million equity investment as well as a $100 million loan and guarantees to support the ongoing construction and operation of Safaricom's greenfield telecom network to drive digital connectivity across Ethiopia.

In June 2023, the Ugandan government partnered with the World Bank to launch the Universal Digital Acceleration Program. Under the five-year program, refugees will acquire essential digital skills.

In April 2023, the World Bank approved a $390 million finance deal toward the first phase of the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project, with another $150 million earmarked for Senegal's digital transformation.

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In September 2022, the World Bank approved a $200 million grant for Ghana's digital transformation.

The Rwandan government in January 2023 confirmed a $40 million digitization project using an AFD loan.

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*Top image source: Image by www.slon.pics on Freepik

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa