Madagascar’s digital governance, ID project timeline extended to 2026

The implementation timeline of Madagascar’s Digital Governance and Identification Management System Project (PRODIGY) has been extended to 2026 in a move that aims to make the project more adaptive following the failure to fully meet earlier timelines for some project activities.

The project, supported by funding of about $143 million from the World Bank, was recently revised not only to extend the timeline, but also to incorporate strategies which can ensure sustainable delivery of the project’s core components like meeting procurement and staffing needs.

The new project closing date in June 30, 2026.

According to the updated project document, the adjustment focuses on how to effectively put in place the core identity infrastructure, namely a unified biometric national ID system that will facilitate access to digital government services. It also lays emphasis on speeding up the tender for the biometric ID system, the building of a data center, and the modernization of civil registry infrastructure.

Procurements for civil registration integration systems, data security and privacy software and hardware, training and capacity building, and outreach and communications services are also planned.

Last month, the Malagasy government said it was readying a tender for the biometric national digital ID system after the Senate approved its legislative framework.

From past experience related to the project including issues like contract cancellation, the adjustment is intended to make the implementation more realistic, phased and adaptive enough to enable the attainment of results.

With the extension, procurement activities for certain aspects of the project will go right into 2026, and will cover different areas like consulting services, procurement of goods, and works.

Between the June 2025 and June 2026, some procurements are planned including for the biometric ID system and the purchase of biometric enrollment kits and scanners. Some kits have already been supplied by Laxton and IN Groupe was selected to supply a database management system.

The project adjustment is also motivated by the preference for national and direct procurement methods which is expected to lead to more local sourcing and faster execution, in a bid to reduce some of the delays associated with previous international procurement processes.

The change, per the document, also underscores the need to prioritize the backend infrastructure of the project with aim of supporting more secure and scalable digital services.

PRODIGY is a huge digital transformation project for Madagascar which has three major objectives. It seeks to create a consolidated and interoperable identity management system, develop digital and mobile government services, and ensure project management and implementation support.

Article Topics

Africa  |  civil registration  |  digital ID  |  government purchasing  |  government services  |  legal identity  |  Madagascar  |  Prodigy (Madagascar)  |  tender  |  World Bank