Benin—staying on top of its digital transformation
Area 114,763 km
Population 13,754,688
National Cyber Security Index 58.44 (2023)
Digital Development Level 25.83 (2023)
Cooperation with Benin started in 2016, when Benin’s president, Patrice Talon, visited Estonia. During that trip, Arvo Ott and Mr. Talon signed a cooperation agreement to share best practices and plan e-governance development in Benin. Ties between the two countries were further strengthened by Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid’s visit to Benin in 2018. The two countries are similar in that they are smaller than their neighbors and have few natural resources. Despite these challenges, Benin, like Estonia, is eager to find its niche and support national development through digitalization.
The digital transformation got off to a good start. The aim was to focus on the more general internal aspects of digital government and lay the foundation by making an inventory of information systems and assets. However, there is always a need to pick the “low-hanging fruit.” In Benin, this prize, it was decided, would be a citizen’s portal. This would be a small visible victory for Benin’s citizens.
However, the portal, along with the interoperability infrastructure, was only a basis for introducing new e-services. One of the early ones was the pension system for civil servants. Before, it required collecting hard-copy documentation of one’s employment history from all previous employers. Digitalizing this process saved a considerable amount of time. Other services, such as building permits, traffic exams, and university applications, soon followed. The digital way of interaction is quickly becoming the preferred and expected way.
Anziz Adehan
Quick success in this endeavor relies both on the support of the top leadership and on the motivated civil servants who have taken on the role of “digital missionaries.” People like Anziz Adehan, head of eServices and platform department at the Information Systems and Computing Agency (ASIN), encourage government agencies to make the best use of their interoperability infrastructure. According to Mr. Adehan, this kind of change management is required because there is a need for a general shift in people’s mindsets. At the same time, ASIN has an impressive record of success. Mr. Adehan mentions e-visas and the platform for managing the work of their government as examples.
“I think success lies in using the best advice while paying attention to our own needs,” Mr. Adehan suggests. “So, for example, our partnership with eGA has really boosted our development, and we have been able to take the X-road and implement it in Benin. But we have also carefully adapted all of the technologies and platforms used elsewhere to the requirements of Benin.”
Skilled people are an important resource for this kind of development. Mr. Adehan says that many of his colleagues have a background in tech companies or agencies abroad. So when Benin chose digital transformation as its goal, it reached out to its diaspora. Many, including Mr. Adehan himself, answered the call.
As a rapidly developing but also diverse country, Benin faces the challenge of reaching the 40% of its population that is still illiterate. ASIN is directing a great deal of effort towards increasing IT maturity and skill development in the remote villages. One of the tools there is establishing service centers where people without equipment or skills can receive help. There is even a technological solution called “authentication for another” that is used in the service centers. They are working on developing a certificate so that not only public centers but also private entrepreneurs could benefit from this.
Mr. Adehan recalls that the reason for choosing eGA and Estonia was that they encouraged Benin to develop its own competences in building and managing the digital state. Besides gaining control of its own development, this allows the country to notice any issues that an up-and-coming digital country inevitably produces. The digital future of Benin is in secure hands.
Lessons learned:
- Strong political will is the main enabler of quick success in digital transformation.
- Engage motivated civil servants and encourage them to take on the role of “digital missionaries.”
- Don’t copy but adapt digital solutions.
- Developing one’s own competences in building and managing the digital stateis key.
- Pick the “low-hanging fruit”: something useful and quickly doable that makes a difference in public service provision for citizens or other main target groups.
- Keep digitally vulnerable citizens in mind while developing and providing public services.
