Benin Learns from Ethiopia's Digital Transformation Strategy

• Benin's Minister of Digital Transformation seeks lessons from Ethiopia's digital transformation experience.
• Ethiopia's Digital Ethiopia 2025 strategy provides a strong foundation for the country's digital advancement.
• The African Union's vision of facilitating trade and economic integration aligns with Benin's interest in learning from Ethiopia's model.

In a recent visit to Ethiopia, Benin's Minister of Digital Transformation and Innovation, Mahuna Akplogan, expressed interest in learning from the country's digital transformation experience. The visit was part of growing cooperation between Ethiopia and Benin in technology and innovation. Akplogan noted that Ethiopia's digital transformation efforts serve as a 'textbook case' for Africa, with its Digital Ethiopia 2025 strategy providing a strong foundation for the country's digital advancement. This has paved the way for more ambitious objectives under the Digital Ethiopia 2030 plan. The minister emphasized that Benin aims to understand and adopt best practices in digital service delivery from Ethiopia's experience.

The African Union's vision of facilitating trade and economic integration across the continent is closely aligned with Benin's interest in learning from Ethiopia's digital transformation model. The Ethiopian government has made significant strides in building an integrated digital government service platform, which has evolved into a unified digital platform within a year. This achievement is particularly notable given the country's rapid progress in developing domestic technological capacity for digital identity services. As part of this effort, MESOB Service CEO Yonas Alemayehu shared Ethiopia's experience with the Beninese delegation, highlighting the importance of institutional integration and innovation in digital service delivery.

The visit marked a significant milestone in the growing partnership between Ethiopia and Benin in technology and innovation. The two countries are entering a phase of mutual learning, with discussions held on possible future cooperation in digital identity and other technology-driven projects. According to Yodahe Zemichael, Executive Director of the National ID, the initiative aligns with the African Union's vision of facilitating trade and economic integration across the continent. This partnership is expected to create opportunities for collaboration in digital transformation, innovation, technology development, and knowledge exchange.

Lawyers advising African countries on digital transformation should take note of the best practices shared between Benin and Ethiopia, particularly in building domestic technological capacity for digital identity services, which aligns with the African Union's vision of facilitating trade and economic integration across the continent.

Source: Original reporting via AllAfrica Benin