World Bank Supports Mozambique’s Efforts towards Access to Identification and Digital Transformation

The World Bank approved a $150 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) in support of the Government of Mozambique’s Digital Governance and  Economy Project (EDGE), which focuses on increasing access to civil identification, digital public services and improving digital business opportunities.

“Sixty percent of the Mozambican population lacks official civil identification.This leads to disenfranchisement and leaves large portions of the population, a majority of whom are women, without legal identity, preventing them from accessing schooling, and later in life financial services, pensions, formal jobs, entitlement claims and property transactions,” noted Idah Z. Pswarayi-Riddihough, World Bank Country Director for Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles.

The EDGE project comprises investment and technical assistance activities, and is structured around four mutually reinforcing components as follows:

• Component 1 will focus on two critical aspects of digital transformation: institutional capacity and government connectivity. The objectives of this component are to strengthen the government’s capacity to leverage technologies for improved service delivery, while increasing public sector connectivity across the country.
• Component 2 will facilitate access to legal identification for all citizens, while supporting the development of digital government services. The main beneficiaries of this component will be citizens who lack legal identification, public service users, as well as public and private organizations relying on identity credentials for the provision of services.
• Component 3 will support the growth of the digital private sector by supporting digital SMEs to take advantage of business opportunities created through digitalization efforts in the public sector. Activities under this component, in collaboration with the private sector, will also seek to reduce the gender gap in the technology sector.
• Finally, Component 4 will support effective project implementation, and ensure that the necessary coordination and change-management processes are carried out in a timely manner.

“Leveraging technology for service delivery requires putting users first, combined with strong institutional capacity to design, implement, procure and coordinate digital efforts across government. This is one important challenge this project has set out to address to achieve services that are faster, cheaper, and better,” added Tiago Peixoto, Senior Public Sector Specialist and the project’s lead.

“The project will support the development of Mozambique’s digital business ecosystem in order to take advantage of business opportunities that digitalization efforts will create. It will also promote local digital start-ups and SMEs, which have the potential to grow and spur job creation,” concluded Eva Clemente Miranda, Private Sector Specialist and the project’s co-lead.

The project will leverage an existing coordination mechanism within the Ministry of Science and Technology. This project is in line with the country’s priorities outlined in its five-year plan and the World Bank’s partnership framework with Mozambique for FY 2017-22.

* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 75 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.5 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $18 billion over the last three years, with about 54 percent going to Africa.