Djibouti Digital Foundations Project

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Djibouti has a lot to gain by building a vibrant, inclusive and safe digital economy and harnessing the power of digital transformation. Djibouti Vision 2035 acknowledges the role of ICTs as a “powerful tool for increasing production, competitiveness and improving well-being”. In fact, the development of the ICT sector and the digital economy can contribute to economic growth through its respective added value, while in parallel stimulating the growth of other sectors, by fostering productivity and innovation in MSMEs, and in turn driving job creation and economic diversification. This would be an especially appealing prospect for the Djiboutian youth, who are more internet savvy than their peers, and many of whom currently are unable to find jobs or are stuck in low wage employment. By accelerating digital transformation and digital leapfrogging, Djibouti’s position as an essential trade hub could also be strengthened in the rapidly evolving regional context. For instance, the digital economy could catalyse development of an ecosystem of digital platforms for transport, logistics and distribution. Similarly, Djibouti could take advantage of its international ICT infrastructure to promote outsourceable activities such as call centers and data hosting and analytics. The benefits of a high-performing digital economy in Djibouti, based on a well-developed ICT sector, could thus be manifold and transformational. The operation Djibouti Digital Foundations Project (“Digital Djibouti”) seeks to be transformational in that it would support deep and systemic change in the telecommunications/ICT sector with the potential for large-scale impact on the growth of the digital economy in Djibouti. It aims to help Djibouti harness its digital potential by mobilizing the public and private sectors, ensuring that more citizens and businesses have access to quality and affordable internet connectivity, that local digital services are easily accessible online to stimulate demand, and that the digital economy becomes an engine for growth, innovation and job creation. This vision will require a long-term commitment to enable the necessary sectoral policy reforms to be carried out in order to stimulate competition and private sector investment in ICTs, foster innovation, and train a new generation of citizens and digital champions capable of using the technology. The project would be organised around the following components, which would stimulate both the supply of, and demand for, digital services.1. Digital enabling environment and connectivity -- This component is designed to help Djibouti lay the groundwork for accelerating the gradual emergence of a vibrant, inclusive and safe digital economy, by providing support to the operationalization of the ARMD, to the MCPT for the sector reform and to the legal and regulatory enabling environment to prepare further introduction of competition, and by enhancing the level of digital connectivity available, in particular for government. 2. Digital ecosystem, transformation and skills development -- This component aims to capitalize on the fast evolving policy environment to promote digital transformation and the development of digital skills. It will provide support to the operationalization of the MENI, strengthen Government's digital transformation's capacities and further seek to promote digital skills in order to increase digital literacy and inclusion. 3. Project management -- This component covers the costs of implementing and managing the project, including the costs of procurement, financial management, communications, safeguards, monitoring and evaluation, citizen engagement and Interactive Beneficiary Mechanism (IBM) and overall project coordination.4. Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC).