• Platform centralizes public services online

• Initial services focus on judicial documents, reducing costs and delays

• Plan targets digitizing 900 procedures, advancing national digital strategy

Senegal launched the "e-Senegal" platform on Tuesday, March 24. The portal was unveiled as part of the flagship projects under the country's New Deal Technologique initiative.

The platform will centralize online administrative procedures and facilitate access to government services.

In its initial phase, the portal offers a set of priority services, primarily in the judicial domain. Users can submit requests for criminal records, nationality certificates, detention visit authorizations and certificates confirming non-membership in the civil service. The platform aims to reduce the costs and processing times associated with traditional administrative processes.

Over the medium term, the program plans to digitize approximately 900 procedures over four years, in line with the objectives set under the New Deal Technologique. The transformation relies on improved coordination between government agencies and better organization of public services.

A Digital Strategy Gaining Momentum

For the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, the tool represents "a commitment to ensure that every Senegalese citizen, wherever they are, can access their rights, their services and their opportunities, simply and with dignity."

The initiative builds on efforts launched several years ago. Senegal began digitizing its administrative services in 2017 through various partnerships. In November 2023, Senegal Numérique S.A. (SENUM), in partnership with the German international cooperation agency GIZ, presented "GovStack," a platform designed to manage more than 800 administrative procedures. A few months earlier, in July 2023, an investment of 8 billion CFA francs ($14.1 million) was allocated to the Digital Master Plan for Justice 2023-2027, aimed at improving access to judicial services.

Aligned with the Vision 2050 national transformation agenda, the New Deal Technologique aims to position Senegal as a sub-regional digital hub.

Charlène N’dimon