KOICA, Federal Govt Organise Knowledge Exchange To Enhance e-Government Devt

The Republic of Korea through its grant aid agency, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) office in Nigeria in close collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (FMCDE) and Galaxy Backbone (GBB) has organized a knowledge exchange programme via South-South and Triangular Cooperation with the focus on enhancing e-government development.

The collaboration involves Nigeria, Rwanda, and the Republic of Korea, and is designed specifically for the Nigerian government service portal team.

The event held in Kigali, Rwanda featured study visits and discussions related to policies, strategies, and programmes for Rwanda’s digitalisation journey. The visit was organised as part of an effort to promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences between Nigeria and Rwanda through KOICA, with a specific focus on enhancing e-government development.

In his welcome remarks, the deputy country director of KOICA Rwanda Mr Kim Kwonho, who represented the country director at the event commended efforts of KOICA in driving a convergence point between Rwanda and Nigeria, in the area of digital governance. He re-echoed the importance and benefits of cooperative efforts among different countries through knowledge sharing and exchange programmes.

The study visit forms part of project activities under ‘the Project for Building Foundations Towards Digital Governance in Nigeria (2020 – 2026)’. Kwonho said the project which is fully funded by the Korean government through grant aid is expected to enhance capacity for the further execution of key initiatives of the national e-government master plan.

He said the aim is to strengthen the deployment of government-wide enterprise architecture, improve competencies for eGovernment service delivery through capacity building programs, expand the delivery of government digital services through the activation of the GSP and create increased access for National Identity Number (NIN) enrolment through the establishment of additional NIN enrolment centers.

The primary emphasis was on the efficient delivery of government digital services through a one-stop portal model.

During the workshop, Prof. Muhammed Bello Abubakar, the Managing director and CEO of Nigeria’s Galaxy Backbone, expressed gratitude to Mr. Minjae Kang, deputy country director of KOICA, for their contributions to Nigeria’s e-government development.

He emphasized that the success of the GSP hinges on hosting it on a national infrastructure to reach underserved areas and ensure system interoperability among various government agencies in Nigeria, adding that the insights gained from the study visit in Rwanda will play a pivotal role in strengthening Nigeria’s ongoing digitiation efforts, especially as the GSP achieves full functionality.

The Nigerian GSP team consists of representatives from nine government agencies, some of whom will contribute their digital services to the GSP once it becomes operational. The visit will be made possible through the facilitation of Rwanda Cooperation in Kigali and Sangmyung University from  the Republic of Korea.

The activation of Nigeria’s Government Service Portal is the central focus of this project and development of the portal is expected to be completed within an 18-month period.