DRC seeks consultant for ambitious digital transformation, DPI project

The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking a consultant as it launches a massive Digital Transformation Project. The wide-ranging project is intended to boost access to broadband internet connectivity and enable digital public service delivery, and the DRC is soliciting expressions of interest from experienced consultants to guide the process.

An announcement by the Congo-Kinshasa government states that $400 million in funding for the project will come from the World Bank, with another 100 million euros in cofinancing from the French Development Agency.

DRC launched its draft digital transformation strategy last year, based on $1 billion in funding from the government and $500 million from external sources and partners.

The project’s deliverables would give the DRC functional Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), including digital identity, a data-sharing platform, qualified electronic signatures and a government payment gateway. The country also plans to establish data protection regulations in line with the African Union’s framework.

Goals for the digital transformation project include expanded digital inclusion, the introduction of a digital public services platform and emergency response system and domestic digital capacity-building.

The country has agreements in place to launch the DRCPass, developed by Singaporean firm Trident, as a blockchain-based digital ID for SIM registration and digital public service delivery. The government had targeted a March rollout, but no launch or delay has been announced.

The government did, however, announce a deal just weeks ago with U.S.-based Cybastion to help develop the DRC’s digital infrastructure.

First step in a major transformation

A unit within the Ministry of Post, Telecommunications and Digital Affairs (MPTN) is responsible for implementing the funding, and will work with several other government Ministries the project is intended to benefit.

Mobile broadband access is still very limited in the country, which is sub-Saharan Africa’s third most populous. Just over 15 percent of the population had high-speed internet access as of 2022, according to the tender document.

Once the situation is improved the DRC believes it will be in a position to carry out its National e-Government Strategy 2025–2030.

To get to that point, the DRC will task its digital transformation consultant with helping define the strategic priorities and objectives of the e-Government Strategy, developing the e-Government Master Plan that operationalizes the Strategy and defining a governance framework. The consultant will also be asked to help develop the enterprise architecture and interoperability framework for the service delivery platform, process reengineering and preparation for implementation, and with the organization and facilitation of workshops, including for pilot validation.

The government wants bidders for the eight-month contract to have ten years of experience and references from at least three similar projects involving digital identity, e-government infrastructure and digital public services.

Article Topics

Africa  |  data sharing  |  Democratic Republic of Congo  |  digital identity  |  digital payments  |  digital public infrastructure  |  tender