E-Government Development in Niger

In 2004, the government of Niger launched a first national ICT development plan called NICI (National Information and Communication Infrastructures) developed by experts of UNECA, UNDP, with support from EU, and ITU. The Haut Commissariat à l’Information et aux Nouvelles Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (HC/NTCI), established in 2005, assured coordination of the plan development. HC/NTCI, according to its website, implemented several projects, including feasibility study of the Government intranet, promotion of the use of electronic messaging in public administration, technical support for the revision of the electoral register and support in other projects in the sector. However, as of today, the agency is not operational.

In 2008, the first initiatives related to e-governance in Niger were launched under the auspices of a project called ‘Electronic governance and access to information for the modernization of public administration and local development in Niger’ in partnership with the UNDP.

However, while the government made numerous public statements related to e-governance, so far, no formal document or strategic policy exists in this domain. In 2013, the Government of Niger approved the telecommunications and ICT sectoral policy document for the period (2013-2020).

In 2021, the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy launched the work within the framework of the development of Niger’s Digital Policy ‘Digital Niger 2021-2030’, the revised version of the previous Telecommunications Sectoral Policy document. It also goes in accordance with the socio-economic ‘Renaissance Program Act II’ first launched in 2010 and the ‘Niger 2.0’ strategic plan launched in 2017. The Niger 2.0 Strategy has a strong focus on rural areas (Smart Villages Program). In 2022, the government adopted a decree enacting the national cybersecurity strategy 2023-2027. In 2023, a new Digital Development Policy 2023-2032 was adopted. 

The mandate of the Haut Commissariat à l’Information et aux Nouvelles Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (HC/NTCI) was transferred to the following institutions.

Agence Nationale de la Société de l’Information (ANSI) was launched in 2017. Its mission is the operational implementation of strategies, programs and projects for the promotion and development of information and communication technologies (ICT), in accordance with the guidelines defined by the Government, in conjunction with the Ministry in charge of the sector and other relevant structures. The ANSI is also in charge of managing the Universal Service Fund. The ANSI is placed under the technical supervision of the Minister Director of Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Niger, and under the financial supervision of the Minister in charge of Finance.

Ministère des Postes, des Télécommunications, et de l’Économie Numérique (MPTEN): In 2018, Law No. 2018-45 regulating electronic communications in Niger was adopted. Amongst other things, the new law puts the MPTEN in charge of defining and implementing the policy for the development of the electronic communications sector (including being in charge of the licensing award process). The MPTEN is under the authority of the Prime Minister’s Office. 

Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et de la Poste (ARCEP) was established in 2018. The sector regulator is in charge of defining and enforcing the regulatory framework for the electronic communications sector.

Haute Autorité de Protection des Données à caractère Personnel (HAPD) was established in 2017. It is an independent administrative agency in charge of enforcing data protection. The HAPD has been officially launched in November 2019.

Accessibility

 Despite these consistent efforts of both national and international actors, the digitalization in Niger has been hampered by limited digital infrastructures (latest data available shows that 18.6% of the Nigeriens have access to electricity, and only 22%  use the Internet), especially taking into account that 83% of the population resides in rural areas, low levels of literacy (38% of the population above 15 y.o.) and digital literacy, lack of expertise and resources.

As with many African markets, a lack of fixed telecoms infrastructure has led to growth in mobile services. Yet, Niger’s mobile penetration is modest compared to other countries in the region, while fixed broadband penetration is negligible.

According to the ARCEP, Niger had a mobile telephony penetration rate of around 62.1% in the third quarter of 2023. Recent international investment to complete the Trans-Saharan Dorsal optical fiber (SDR) network has extended the reach of fiber infrastructure in the country, and also increased international capacity. New cables linking the country with Chad and Burkina Faso have extended Niger’s connectivity with international cable infrastructure.

Moreover, in 2020, the government announced that “the National Agency for the Information Society (ANSI) of Niger will connect nearly 2000 villages to mobile telephony and broadband internet services.” The ‘Smart Villages for Growth Project is Digital Inclusion’ (PVI) is expected to last six years. 

The telecommunications market is dominated by international companies:  Airtel Niger (90% owned by Bharti Airtel of India), Orange Niger (previously owned by the French Orange Group and now Zamani Com), Moov Niger (owned by Maroc Telecoms, which is in turn 48% owned by Etisalat, UAE). Niger Telecoms (a 100% state-owned enterprise that has been through a number of unsuccessful privatization attempts) has only a 7% share of the market. Thus, in 2023, the government discussed a merger of Niger Telecoms and Zamani Telecom to strengthen the position of the local company in the market.

High mobile prices also impede the adoption of digital technologies. High mobile prices (a basket of mobile services represents 33% of monthly Gross National Income (GNI) per capita compared to 14% for Africa) also impede the adoption of digital technologies. The lack of affordability can be partly attributed to a high level of taxation.Nonetheless, the predominantly young population, with a median age lower than 15 y.o., as well as steady growth of literacy rates and investments made in connectivity infrastructure present opportunities for the successful adoption of ICTs. 

In 2021, with the support of the EU, in particular, the think-tank Numéricité, the national online services portal (service-public.ne) was launched (within an assistant project 2020-2022). The website draws from the French experience. It provides information about basic public services for citizens and businesses (cost, expected duration, responsible entity, work hours, address, contact details). In several cases it is expected to allow online access to the service – after registration on the portal. However, its functioning requires upgrading, citizens cannot register since the verification email is not sent, thus not allowing registration. The portal is declared to provide a voice assistant in Hausa and Zarma, however the assistant does not work. Furthermore, the search does not provide results showing an error page.

Given the fact that the population of Niger is predominantly rural and, thus, relies on agriculture (35% of GDP), digitalization of the sector is of significant interest to boost socio-economic development of the country Since 2012 the German BMZ launched a project PromAP (Programme de Promotion de l’Agriculture Productive au Niger) which encompasses implementation of a digital library focused on agriculture. The same reasons lead to the importance of establishing an efficient land registry. Moreover, land disputes are among the most common legal issues. Thus, in 2020, the digitalization of land cadastre was completed at 81%. The project included scanning land title files, setting up Excel files for entering land title data, registers, land books and subdivisions, installation of PostgreSQL DBMS and PostGis geographic module.

With only 54% of Nigeriens having access to a health facility within a 0-5 km radius and the average coverage index for essential health services of 49.1% (2021), the health sector is a prospective direction for integration of ICTs. Since 2019, health intelligence platform mhealth has been used in Niger to improve health provision at community level and to make a success of the digitisation of community health provided for in the National Community Health Strategic Plan (PSNSC) 2019-2023. Moreover, in 2019, the Ministry of Public Health of Niger in collaboration with the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy, with the technical and financial support of the World Health Organization (WHO) organized the implementation of Niger’s national e-health strategic plan 2020- 2023 (the contribution of the WHO to the tune of $200,000 over 2020-2021 and the Belgian cooperation to the tune of €450,000 over 2020). In 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) conducted an assessment of the epidemiological surveillance network for priority livestock diseases in Niger. The key recommendations include establishing a harmonized system of data collection, packaging, storage and transport from the field in LABOCEL (the Central Laboratory for Livestock).

As of today, identification in Niger is paper-based, though in 2003 a decree stipulating an obligatory electronic ID card was developed. The initiative, however, did not prove to be realistic since the issuance of the card was too expensive (2000 CFA at the time). In 2020, the first initiatives to create an electoral biometric record were launched. The Biometric Electoral Register, unlike the alphanumeric register, takes into account, during registration, the voter’s biometric information, such as the fingerprints of the ten fingers and the photo. It can also be consulted online on the official website of the CENI, even if some information collected from voters is not posted online in compliance with the texts in force in the country with regard to the protection of personal data. However, all of the information of the enlisted person is accessible by the latter in the services of the CENI.

Since 2006 Niger has been using the UNCTAD’s ASYCUDA customs system (now – ASYCUDAWorld), and, as of 2023, it has been deployed in 57 customs offices. Furthermore, since 2020, its customs division has been undergoing reforms (with the support of the WB) aimed at integrating data analysis and digital technologies in its activities in order to simplify and optimize procedures.  In 2021, Niger introduced a Guichet Unique du Commerce Extérieur developed within a public-private initiative with Webb Fontaine. As a result of reforms, by 2022 clearance time was reduced from an average of 8.76 to 3.29 hours.

 The website of the Ministry of Justice provides access to PDF files of laws and regulations of the country and annual statistics of the sector (till 2019), however it does not allow to file any complaints or requests, or apply for documents (e.g. certificate of no criminal record). It also has its own Intranet. However, the content on many pages is incomplete (for instance, many pages of the Justice et Vous module). However, as of February 2025, the website is unavailable.

eRegulations Niger is an online information service provided by the Ministry of Trade and Private Sector Promotion, in partnership with the Niger Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts and the Centre de Promotion des Investissements. The website provides information mainly for entrepreneurs: where to obtain a service (work hours of the agencies, address, contact details), cost of services and expected duration, documents required to obtain it, stages of procedure, legal frameworks, etc. The system was developed with support from UNCTAD, the ECOWAS and Luxembourg. According to a survey completed by Hague Institute for Innovation of Law in 2021 Informal institutions are the most useful in resolving problems of justice, building digital solutions which rely on communes and traditional institutions can be of interest for successful development of the sector.

 The website of the National Statistics Institute (Institut national de la statistique du Niger) provides mostly PDF files with main statistics about Niger, sectoral annual statistics (economy, demographic situation, education, healthcare, etc.). There are also several statistics portals: Archives Nationales des Données du Niger (ANADO) (data in PDF and metadata in XML formats), Niger Data Portal (in collaboration with AfDB), and Migration statistics portal (developed with the support of the Danish Development Agency DANIDA and IMO, data can be exported in Excel format, however sometimes they can be empty, data is available mostly for recent years). There is also an e-participation portal – PASP, that allows users to take surveys (2 surveys available, since 2023) to express opinion about the statistics portal. The survey comprises 274 questions which makes it cumbersome to complete.

Furthermore, the country should implement projects based on its own national interests and strategy.

Authors: Olesya Kalashnik and Sofia Alypova