Senegal leads in building a digital economy

© Dereje Belachew via 123RF

With the development of its online platform, TeleDAc, the Senegalese State wants to strengthen the effectiveness of public action and bring the administration closer to its users, especially through online access to the public service.

"Eighty percent of the work of an administration consists in sharing information with users as well as with the other services of the State. In this respect, the implementation of TeleDAc is essential for the modernisation and effectiveness of public action. The two new procedures we are putting online today are an important step towards achieving our goals," said Cheikh Bakhoum, director general of ADIE (the state agency in charge of the information technology policy).

The impact of digital technology in the creation of wealth in Africa is such that some countries like Senegal outperform many Western countries in the contribution of new technologies to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With 3.3% of its GDP from internet-related activities, Senegal does more than many Western countries, including France and Germany (source: McKinsey).

"In 10 years, the digital economy will probably weigh 10% of African GDP. Digital should be an integral part of the services provided by the public authorities. As an actor in the management and electronic archiving of documents, we are proud to contribute to the success of TeleDAc, an ambitious project to digitize public services," said Alain Taïeb, chairman of the supervisory board of Mobilitas.

ADIE is an autonomous structure, in charge of the implementation of the computerisation policy of the Senegalese state. ADIE provides the Senegalese administration with a coherent system for processing and disseminating information, meeting international standards in terms of quality, safety, performance and availability.

ADIE has set up the platform Tele-Request of Authorization to Build (TeleDAC) which facilitates the conditions for obtaining the building permit, through the complete dematerialization of the procedure.

ADIE has to date formalised the dematerialisation of two procedures of urban planning services. The Mobilitas Group assisted ADIE in the effective implementation of these two approaches, which are now available on the online platform, TeleDac.

Since its launch, TeleDAC has made a significant contribution to improving access to public services, reducing administrative costs for users by 25% and reducing the risk of corruption. TeleDAC also strengthens the standardisation of public electronic archiving: 200,000 applications for building permits were digitised, following the rehabilitation of the archives of the departmental departments of town planning in Dakar.