Cameroon in $38m South Korea deal to fund digital projects

AFRICAN BUSINESS AND ECONOMYJuly 18, 2024 at 1:40 PM UTC

TLDR

Cameroon and South Korea sign $38 million agreement for 5 development projects, including 3 digitalization initiatives.
Funds allocated for upgrading Cameroon's civil status registration system and establishing a secure foundational identity system.
$5.6 million allocated to enhance transparency and efficiency in the e-Procurement System Development Project.

Cameroon and South Korea have entered into a $38 million agreement to implement five development projects in Cameroon, including three focused on digitalization.

Part of the funds will be allocated to the next phase of an ongoing project to upgrade and digitize Cameroon’s civil status registration system; $4.8 million will be used to establish an efficient and secure foundational identity system for the country.

The second phase of the “e-Procurement System Development Project” also will benefit from this funding, aiming to digitize the public contracts procurement system, and will receive $5.6 million to continue efforts to streamline procurement procedures.

Key Takeaways

Over time, Cameroon's civil registration system has faced significant challenges in recording births and deaths, with only half of all births and very few deaths being documented. This lack of birth certificates has led to exclusions from essential services such as formal education, healthcare, travel privileges, voting rights, and the ability to open a bank account or acquire property. That underscores the importance of the financing deal.

South Korea

Cameroon

Economy

Digitalization

e-Procurement System Development Project