Digital Malawi Acceleration Project (DMAP)

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Digitalization can be a powerful tool for development in Malawi, transforming entire sectors and delivery of services as well as for creating employment. Given the importance of the digital economy to increased productivity and efficiency, its potential benefits are amplified in the context of addressing and dealing with natural disasters and health pandemics as the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic. Malawi will need to rely increasingly on digital technologies to ensure that public services, businesses, and individuals are able to withstand current and future events and to develop a set of resilience measures, in order to ensure business continuity of government, and avoid service interruptions in service delivery. A combination of widespread access to broadband, digitally enabled services and payments can offer a powerful platform to remove barriers of distance and lower cost in the delivery of services and improve human development while also contributing to economic growth and reduced poverty. It is proposed to include Malawi in the first wave of countries in the Inclusive Digitalization in Eastern and Southern Africa (IDEA) MPA (P502532), starting in FY24, with an appraised amount of US$150m in national and IDA regional plus a further US$50m leveraged in unguaranteed commercial financing from the private sector, under the Digital Malawi Acceleration Program (DMAP). The Government of Malawi, by a letter of December 18, 2023, has requested participation in the new regional program. The Digital Malawi Acceleration Project (DMAP) is structured around four components that are aligned with the IDEA program, as follows:Component 1: Affordable broadband and secure data hosting. This component focuses on expanding essential, high-quality, resilient and affordable broadband infrastructure and services while supporting investment in secure data infrastructure and the development of cloud and data hosting markets. Specifically, in Malawi it will focus on enhancing rural connectivity to 500 additional Government institutions and 2,000 schools as part of a drive towards universal internet access. Component 2: Interoperable and secure data platforms. This Component will focus on deploying interoperable digital public infrastructure (DPI) to enhance efficiencies in both public and private sectors, strengthening institutions and developing the cross-cutting enablers and digital safeguards needed to promote trusted and safe use of digital technologies and digitally-enabled services at the national level and across borders. In Malawi the aim is to provide an additional two million people with digitally-verifiable Identification and access to digitally-enabled services.Component 3: High-impact digital services and productive digital usage. This Pillar focuses on (i) advancing digitally enabled applications and services that can potentially have a high impact on economic and social activities (prioritizing social protection, education, digital financial services and climate-related applications in the initial phases); (ii) increasing digital and financial literacy to support general uptake of digital services; (iii) strengthening digital skills and competencies among citizens, businesses and the public sector; and (iv) developing digitally enabled entrepreneurial ecosystem to increase productive usage and the development of these services. In Malawi this will include grants to tech hubs and sectoral deep divesComponent 4: Project management and capacity building. This will cover the standard functions of project coordination, procurement, financial management and environmental and social safeguards, as well as monitoring and evaluation, communications and gender.The Project will benefit households (especially low-income households), disadvantaged women and girls (especially in remote areas), digital start-ups, and public facilities in Malawi with enhanced access to affordable, high-quality broadband, affordable devices and enhanced data protection. A specific target will be to connect a further 500 government institutions and 2,000 schools to high-speed internet.The Project will utilize the implementation arrangements of the ongoing Digital Malawi project (P160533), with a few improvements, notably a bigger role for the Malawi Research and Education Network (MAREN) as an implementing partner for the internet in schools initiative. The project will include additional beneficiaries, such as the Data Protection Authority (DPA), the National Registration Bureau (NRB) and the planned Malawi Information Technology Authority (MITA).