Peru to Advance Its Digital Transformation with IDB Support

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $50-million loan to Peru to improve and expand access to the digital transformation and government service of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The program seeks to expand digital citizenship opportunities in Peru, with an emphasis on women and vulnerable and diverse populations.

This program will benefit Peruvian citizens as a whole by enabling inclusive and secure digital citizenship, which means using information technologies to access quality and safe digital services, which will result in lower travel and transaction costs for government procedures.

Peru has made significant strides on digital transformation. In 2022, the country was classified as part of the “very high” group in the United Nations’ E-Government Development Index, and in 2021 the World Bank ranked the country as a leader in GovTech. However, an IDB study on the region found that it takes more hours to complete procedures with the government in Peru than in all but one other country, and that the country has the highest percentage of these transactions that require three or more interactions.

Given these opportunities for improvement, the Digital Transformation with Equity Project, which has been approved by the IDB’s Board of Executive Directors, seeks to strengthen and expand access to digital services, with a focus on gender equity and diversity. This initiative will help the government make more efficient use of digital technologies, expand access to the National Data Center, and increase effectiveness in responding to cybersecurity incidents.

“With this project, Peruvians will be able to access new online government procedures in addition to existing ones, such as the renewal of identification documents, criminal record checks, queries of the Unique Taxpayer Registry (RUC for its Spanish acronym), among others. They will also be able to access services in a more secure and integrated manner, thanks to the technological advances that will be implemented. Furthermore, the information on government pages will be made available in Quechua and accessible for people with disabilities,” said Alexandre Veyrat-Pontet, IDB specialist leading this project.

To achieve these goals, the program will finance the implementation of several crucial platforms to promote equitable access to and use of information. These platforms, which include the National Digital Identity Platform, the National Digital Talent Platform and the National Digital Economy Platform, will give the government useful data for designing public policies. The program will also involve work to improve and strengthen digital security and trust, with an emphasis on women and people living with disabilities.

This $50 million loan to Peru has a 15-year repayment term, a six-year grace period, and an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).