The digital economy should represent 8.5% of Africa's GDP–or $712 billion–by 2050. This is a promising sector and that is why many African countries have been launching digital transformation projects in recent years. 

The Ivorian government allied with US cybersecurity firm Cybastion last Tuesday, July 18. Under the partnership, Cybastion will help reinforce Côte d’Ivoire’s IT facilities and anticipate cyber threats. The company will also help boost locals’ IT skills and train highly qualified professionals who will contribute to the African nation’s digitization in the long term.  

The partnership agreements were inked by the ministers of ICT, Transport, and Trade of Côte d’Ivoire, and Cybastion.  

Besides these agreements, the minister of ICT, Amadou Coulibaly, also signed with his counterpart from Public Service, Anne Désirée Ouloto, a partnership agreement on the same day with the National Company for the Publication of Administrative Documents and Identification (SNEDAI) and SAH Analytics International group. This agreement is aimed at digitizing and modernizing administrative procedures, especially by setting up a biometric identification system that will cover the country's public administrations.

According to Anne Désirée Ouloto, this partnership will reduce the absenteeism of state workers, and monitor attendance at work. And this should, according to her, bolster transparency and equity in the public sector. 

The various partnerships are part of Côte d’Ivoire’s 2021-2025 National Strategy for the Development of the Digital Sector. This is a strategy that features several digitization projects, which align with President Ouattara’s vision to modernize and reinforce Ivorian public services.

Samira Njoya