News (1492)
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is supporting the government of Mauritius in the acquisition of a national digital health system. A collaboration deal was signed to this effect between the two parties last January 26 in Port Louis.
The deal is part of the government’s ambition to promote high-quality, affordable, user-centered care while encouraging higher levels of internal efficiency and effectiveness. Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal (pictured), Minister of Health and Welfare, revealed that the UNDP's financial contribution to the project was more than $2.7 million. The Japanese government also contributed $418,000, and the Mauritian government raised more than $3 million for the project.
The digital health system will open up new opportunities and guide the planning, allocation, monitoring, and evaluation of resources, Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal said. “It will also provide the technology required to improve the health awareness levels of the citizens, thus paving the way for a new era in healthcare delivery in Mauritius,” he added.
The health system in Mauritius faced many challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has therefore adopted a solution called E-health, in the framework of the Strategic Healthcare Plan 2020-2024 launched on August 12, 2020.
In addition to the financial support, UNDP plans to catalyze financing from other partners.
Muriel Edjo
The Ivorian government has made the fight against cybercrime one of its priorities since 2011. This crackdown has made it possible to shrink the financial damage due to cybercrime to $9.4 million in 2018 from about $24 million in 2010.
Digital security solutions can help Côte d'Ivoire save CFA2.5 billion (nearly $4.2 million) each year. This amount is how much the country lost to cybercriminals in 2021, according to Colonel Ouattara Moussa (pictured), director of information technology and technological traces (DITT) at the Ministry of the Interior and Security. Data released last January 31 by the anti-cybercrime platform (PLCC) showed that more than 5,000 complaints were recorded in 2021 compared to 2,408 in 2017, up 51.84%. PLCC reported that the main digital crimes recorded in the last year are threats of posting sexual images and sexual harassment on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp), e-transaction fraud, fraudulent use of natural person identifiers, damage to image and honor, and online scams. The platform says 50% of complaints were solved in 2021.
The data unveiled by the PLCC highlights the growing dangers in the digital world. In response, the government has taken several actions to further secure the national cyberspace. In 2020, it adopted a new cybersecurity strategy that extends to 2025. It also planned to invest $30.8 million to create a National Cybersecurity Council and a National Cybersecurity Authority.
While waiting for these investments to materialize, the National Center for Monitoring and Response to Computer Security Incidents in Côte d'Ivoire recommends that individuals be more vigilant online, that they regularly back up their data, equip their terminals with antivirus software, activate an antispam program on their e-mail, regularly update their operating systems and avoid installing software from unknown sources.
For businesses, the global IT consulting firm Accenture recommends, among other things, reducing data transfers, enabling full disk encryption on all devices, using cybersecurity operators, and adopting the cloud.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The government of Gabon announced a partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to introduce digitalization in primary education. A meeting was held for this purpose between the Gabonese Minister of National Education, Professor Patrick Mougiama-Daouda, and the resident representative of Unicef in Gabon, Dr. Noël Marie Zagre. This initiative aims to make distance learning more dynamic through new technologies.
"The program will spread over five years. We plan to establish a mechanism that will help both students and teachers to get used to the digital tools. A first phase will see us implement the project in 3 schools per region," said Dr. Noël Marie Zagre.
The UNICEF Resident Representative also revealed that the program will later cover secondary and higher education. "It will take into account all aspects including staff training, infrastructure, and content to ensure that primary education can benefit from the digital," he said.
Gabon gradually started its digital migration process about a decade ago. With the advent of Covid-19, the country wants to accelerate its process.
Brice Gotoa
Mauritania has been launching several e-government development projects since 2020. Indeed, the country’s government, after understanding the importance of modernizing the public administration amidst the Covid-19 crisis, started prioritizing strategic partnerships.
To speed up the digitalization of public services in the country, the Mauritanian government, on 11th Jan 2022, signed two (2) memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Emirati firms. According to the Mauritanian Minister for Digital Transition, Innovation, and the Modernization of the Administration, the signing took place during the Mauritania Day at the Expo 2020 Dubai currently taking place in the UAE (started on October 21 and ending on March 31, 2022). The official broke the news on January 19.
The first of the two MoUs was signed with Tahaluf Al Emarat, a company that provides smart services and security products. The deal, among others, should help Mauritania simplify decision-making in the public sector, leveraging digital solutions; boost the capacities of its experts in the AI, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, and network sectors; as well as improve access to public services via mobile.
The second protocol signed with the Emirati company Serdal Limited is focused on supporting the government in developing market, technical, and operational studies (feasibility studies) related to digitalization in Mauritania. The firm’s expertise will serve for several projects, including the development of e-commerce, digital postal services, and the digitization of Mauritania's border crossings. Both parties involved in the deal will set up a team that will define the terms and conditions of the services offered under this MOU.
A third memorandum was signed with 01 Talent Africa, a company founded by Nicolas Sadirac and Deror Sultan. Under this agreement, Mauritania will get a collective intelligence center called "Zone01". The facility will house a coding school, a professional digital training center, and a digital talent agency.
"These memoranda of understanding are part of the ministry's efforts to consolidate the new digital dynamics recently launched by the government, to foster a smooth, secure and inclusive digital transformation in Mauritania while encouraging digital innovation and making e-governance a tool for modernizing Mauritania’s Administration,” said the Ministry of Digital Transition and Innovation.
Taking advantage of the UAE’s technical expertise to accelerate the digitization of its public services adds up to Mauritania’s multiple efforts to consolidate its digital achievements. Among such achievements, there is the ongoing construction of a Tier III data center and the completion, in December 2020, of a 4,000 km national fiber-optic network. At the moment, the country is fine-tuning its new digital development strategy.
This year, Mauritania plans to digitize 20 basic public services, out of 110 public services which should be digitized by 2025. This was disclosed last December by Abdelaziz Ould Dahi, Minister of Digital Transition, Innovation, and Modernization of the Administration,
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Despite a notable evolution of fintech in sub-Saharan Africa, the Islamic segment of this market has issues taking off. This gap, however, could be exploited by the region for its growth.
Talking about regions that leverage opportunities offered by Islamic fintech (iFintech), Sub-Saharan Africa keeps lagging – according to the Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021. “Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA (ex-GCC) have gaps across the 9 iFintech services segments,” the report reads.
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the report’s authors found, has seven (7) iFintechs - the lowest compared to the world’s other six (6) regions. In detail, SSA has 2 Islamic Fintech firms in the alternative finance category, 2 in deposits and lending, and 1 each in the raising funds, wealth management, and social finance categories. Meanwhile, a region like Europe, which ranked third out of six, has respectively 11, 13, 8, 8, and 4 iFintechs in these same categories.
The findings contrast with the rapid evolution of fintech services - mobile money, and microcredit services notably - in SSA. At the country level, Nigeria has the most iFintechs in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Africa, it is even ahead of countries like Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia where Islam is more widespread.
According to the report, skill deficit, poor regulation, and insufficient resources are the reasons preventing iFintech from thriving in Africa. However, the authors estimate that by 2025 the fintech market could grow at more than 25% CAGR in Senegal, Tunisia, and Nigeria. A projection that corresponds to a target transaction volume of $2 billion.
Idriss Linge
After using the ASYCUDA computerized customs management system for many years, Guinea now plans to adopt more solutions to make its customs office more efficient.
This year, the Guinean Customs office plans to speed up its digitalization to be more efficient and produce better financial results. Its managing director, Col. Moussa Camara (photo), disclosed this on 26 January 2022 during a ceremony held to celebrate the International Customs Day.
According to Guinea Morning, Camara explained that his administration would continue "to dematerialize clearance procedures in all its offices across the country, extend the payment of duties and taxes online and other modes of payment, extend the possibilities of access to customs computer systems, including through cell phones, continue and finalize the deployment of the electronic platform for foreign trade management in collaboration with the Guichet, and continue the interconnection with the computer system of public and private entities."
In 2011, the Guinean Customs started its digital transformation and in 2015 it switched management systems from ASYCUDA++ to ASYCUDA WORLD. To facilitate trade with other West African countries, which have also begun modernizing their customs administration, the country, over the past years, has been investing steadily in more advanced digital tools.
Moussa Cissé, Guinea's Minister of Budget, was present at the ceremony held on International Customs Day. On the occasion, he said that the 2022 revenue target set for the Customs office was 12,975.746 billion Guinean francs ($1.44 billion), under the forecast budget.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The World Resources Institute (WRI) announced it has launched, in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), a challenge to reward initiatives that aim to transform the transit systems in Africa by utilizing technology.
The DigitalTransport4Africa (DT4A) Innovation Challenge focuses on sustainable mobility initiatives, particularly those related to artisanal or "informal" transport in African cities through innovative digital tools and technologies. It is open to NGOs, research and academic institutions, and private companies. All eligibility and application conditions are available at digitaltransport4africa.org. The deadline for submissions is February 16, 2022, at 11:59 p.m., East African time.
The four best digital innovations, according to the jury, will each receive a $30,000 award to implement a new initiative over 12 months.
The government of Benin has adopted a new five-year multi-sectoral plan for digital migration. For the education component, the government has defined a technical framework to accelerate the digitalization of the sector. A workshop was organized for this purpose on January 27 by the Minister of Digitalization, Aurelie Adam Soulé Zoumarou (pictured).
It was attended by Salimane Karimou, Minister of Nursery and Primary Education; Eléonore Yayi Ladekan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research; and Kouaro Yves Chabi, Minister of Secondary and Technical Education and Vocational Training.
According to Aurelie Zoumarou, the meeting enables participants to set “the fundamentals of the information system to be put in place, as well as the governance and the roadmap of the e-Education project.” She stressed that “per the vision of the government, the e-Education project must optimize learning and foster a better quality of the transmission of knowledge using digital tools.” The e-Education project is a sub-component of the Government Action Program (PAG) 2021-2026, in its fifth strategic axis: "promotion of quality education and technical and vocational training." Accelerating the project will help the government address the challenges faced by the sector during the coronavirus pandemic.
Once implemented, e-Education will contribute to improving the governance and management of education systems, introducing new teaching and learning practices, improving the monitoring and development of learners, making certificates and diplomas more reliable, strengthening teachers' capacities and skills, and improving research.
Adoni Conrad Quenum