Germany’s GIZ Launches Digital Identity and E-Services Platform Tender in Benin

Germany’s development agency, GIZ, has launched a tender for advancing digital public services in Benin, marking a significant expansion of digital identity initiatives in West Africa. The project builds on recent digital transformation efforts across the African continent and aims to establish Benin as a regional hub for digital services while promoting economic growth and social inclusion.

The project centers on developing a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) environment to enable e-service creation, enhance interoperability, and strengthen security. Following similar successful implementations like Mauritania’s digital identity platform, the system will integrate digital identity systems, authentication protocols, and biometric data as core components of the planned infrastructure. The tender submission deadline extends to January 20, 2025, with project implementation scheduled for 10 months.

The National Register of Persons (NPR) in Benin serves as the foundation for these digital transformation efforts, maintaining civil status and biometric data for approximately 10 million citizens. The NPR assigns unique Personal Identification Numbers (NPI) to individuals, enabling reliable identity verification for digital services. The system supports a national e-services portal currently offering 250 different services, comparable to advanced e-service implementations in countries like Luxembourg.

The technical infrastructure will incorporate biometric authentication mechanisms, including fingerprints and facial recognition, to ensure secure identity verification. The development environment will use container technologies like Docker and Kubernetes to enable scalable authentication services that can adapt to increasing usage demands, similar to modern cloud-based identity platforms available through major providers.

The initiative includes comprehensive capacity building programs targeting both public sector officials and private sector service providers. Civil servants will receive training in digital transformation management, while local developers will gain expertise in e-service development and maintenance, particularly focusing on digital identity and authentication solutions. This approach is consistent with successful capacity-building initiatives seen in other African nations, such as Nigeria’s recent technology innovation developments.

The project operates within the framework of Germany’s Digital Transformation Center (DTC) approach, which supports partner countries in implementing digital solutions. The initiative emphasizes collaboration between public entities and local private sector innovators to establish sustainable digital infrastructure, following proven models of public-private partnership in digital identity deployment.

Sources: TED

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December 20, 2024 – by Ji-seo Kim