National Digital Strategy Plan

Stake

The government of Niger called on Sofrecom to audit and adapt its policy on telecoms and ICT, developed in 2013, to the new challenges and opportunities for development and inclusion arising from digital technology.  This project is consonant with Niger’s digital transformation plan, which aims at fostering the emergence of a digital economy and the development of quality services for citizens.

Methodology

An inventory of ICT in the country
First, our specialists in government projects and strategies analyzed the existing situation. Their inventory survey looked at:

• the coverage and quality of the networks at the national level,
• the service offering,
• the regulations in place,
• and the potential demand and conditions for developing the said demand.

The resulting analysis was then used to identify the country’s main challenges and its digital development objectives, particularly as regards improving connectivity and accessibility for the broadest possible population.

Defining the strategic vision and producing recommendations
Drawing from this audit and capitalizing on the established National Telecommunications Plan, our consultants were able to co-construct, with the government teams, a new strategic vision for the development of broadband over a 5-year horizon. Our consultants have made sure it is both realistic given the country’s resources and ambitious in maximizing the benefits of digital for economic and social development.

Our experts have designed this vision around an ecosystem that fosters harmonious growth in both supply and demand. This ecosystem is composed of:

• infrastructures (networks, data center, platforms, etc.)
• adjustments to the regulatory framework
• services for individuals and companies, accessible to the widest possible population
• the creation of sharing and digital literacy zones: nurseries, shared resource zones on government premises
• training, to encourage ownership of digital technology by both the population (awareness-raising about how to use the Internet, connectivity in government and schools) and digital players (for example, training to install and maintain networks, training in coding, etc.)

The action plan that resulted from this vision was built taking into account the level of maturity of the digital players in the country and their challenges. The schedule and priorities set out by our team take into account:

• the current situation and the resources needed to bring about this change,
• the foundations to be deployed first to enable accessibility (in terms of coverage and price) and/or future deployment of other services,
• training needs,
• the changes in the population, its standard of living and equipment and therefore in potential demand.

To secure the implementation process, our consultants lastly identified and shared avenues for financing.

Result

When the project concluded, the Nigerian government had in hand a strategic vision of Telecommunications and ICTs, in step with its situation and the opportunities offered by digital technology. Thanks to our recommendations, the local teams can now organize their future actions, following consistent, structured guidelines to achieve visible results, while optimizing their investments.