Benin Extends Deadline for Digital Public Services Framework Tender

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has announced an extension to the submission deadline for its digitalization framework tender in Benin, with proposals now due by February 3, 2025, at 12:00 noon CET. The initiative, formally titled “Building of an Innovative Development Environment and Capacity Building for the Digitalisation of Public Services,” seeks to advance Benin’s digital transformation agenda, building on the country’s previous digital identity implementations launched in 2023.

The project encompasses several key objectives, including the establishment of a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) development environment, strengthening collaboration between public institutions and local private sector entities, and developing capabilities among stakeholders. This forms part of the broader Beninnovation initiative, which targets the enhancement of public e-services and follows GIZ’s successful implementation of similar platforms across West Africa.

Benin has already implemented several digital infrastructure components, including a National Register of Persons (NPR) for biometric and civil status data management, a centralized public services portal, and the implementation of Estonia’s X-Road system for secure data exchange. The X-Road implementation, completed in late 2023, established a standardized data exchange layer that connects various government databases and services, similar to Estonia’s acclaimed e-government infrastructure.

The government aims to accelerate this digital transformation by increasing private sector participation to supplement the Agency for Information and Digital Systems (ASIN). ASIN, established in 2020, has been instrumental in coordinating Benin’s digital initiatives and maintaining the country’s growing digital identity infrastructure.

The selected contractor will be responsible for implementing a high-performance e-services development environment, ensuring system scalability through technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes, and incorporating robust security measures for data protection and identity management. The project timeline spans 10 months, with 470 expert days allocated for completion. The containerization approach using Docker and Kubernetes represents a significant modernization of Benin’s government IT infrastructure, allowing for more efficient deployment and scaling of digital services.

This initiative operates within GIZ’s Digital Transformation Center framework, which provides technical support to partner governments in digital solution implementation. The project aims to position Benin as a prominent digital services center in West Africa through enhanced public administration capabilities and private sector engagement, joining regional efforts that include Nigeria’s recent launch of its immigration technology hub and other digital transformation initiatives.

Sources: TED

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January 28, 2025 – by the ID Tech Editorial Team