The coronavirus pandemic accelerated digital transformation initiatives across Africa but, some countries, like Senegal, were already embarked on that path long before the pandemic. They are still pushing ahead with numerous initiatives. 

Senegal's Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy, in partnership with the German international cooperation agency GIZ, unveiled GovStack, a platform that dematerializes administrative procedures, at a workshop organized by Sénégal Numérique (SENUM) on Thursday, October 26, and Friday, October 27. GovStack will enable the dematerialization of over 800 administrative procedures.

"Digitization means we can move faster and make things easier for the administration. It's a platform that's available and free to everyone. We are helping the Senegalese government to understand the tool, its scope, and its benefit for the administration," said Katharina Noussi, Program Manager at GIZ.

Senegal kickstarted the digitization of its administrative services in 2017. Since then, authorities have multiplied partnerships and initiatives in the health, justice, and administrative sectors. In 2022, SENUM signed an agreement with the mayors of the 19 communes in the Dakar department to digitize civil status records. Last July, XOF8 billion (around $13 million) was allocated to set up the 2023-2027 Digital Justice Strategy, to build a digital judicial public service that will benefit all players and users in the sector.

The digitization of various administrative procedures should, among other things, improve the accessibility of public services to users, the efficiency and management of these services thanks to the automation of various tasks, and the exchange of data between government departments.

Adoni Conrad Quenum