Kenya’s One-Stop-Shop

For years now, Kenyan people have benefited from an online repository of government services including business registration and other processes that have made service delivery less costly and efficient. In 2022, the new government under President Ruto promised to digitalize over 5000 services to further enhance efficient service delivery to citizens with increased transparency from anywhere within the nation. Today, the Kenyan government launches the improved digital services portal with the promised services including digitized e-Citizen services, the GavaMkononi App, and Gava Express avenues thus providing a practical example to other nations in the implementation of the AfCFTA.

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) holds immense potential to transform the economic landscape of the African continent. With more signatories to the framework gearing up to start trading under the agreement, it is necessary to borrow from working models within the continents which can enhance seamless trade and ease of doing business such as Kenya’s eCitizen platforms. Kenya’s eCitizen platform, now revamped to include over 5000 digital services is a comprehensive portal that consolidates key government services and thus provides a one-stop-shop for citizens and businesses. The digitalization of services such as business registration, tax payments, licensing, and permits is a call for other African nations to consider similar approaches to enhance service delivery for the benefit of the AfCFTA implementation.

Lessons for Other Nations

The eCitizen platform highlights the need for nations to rapidly streamline processes and enhance efficiency. The platform is therefore an indication of the importance of streamlining services where digitalization and centralization can eliminate unnecessary red tape that has held Africa back, reduce paperwork, and minimizes the overall time and effort that is needed to interact with government agencies. Implemented in more African nations, the streamlined approach to government services can improve the overall efficiency of trade processes, enhance cross-border transactions and reduce trade barriers within the AfCFTA for accelerated gains.

The centralization of government services is a needed element in enhancing transparency and accountability which has been a weak point among African governments in facilitating business activity, trade, and wealth creation. The eCitizen framework in Kenya promotes transparency and accountability by providing a digital trail of interactions between government agencies, businesses, and citizens. This is a system that can be replicated within shared investment protocols of the AfCFTA and within individual nations and trading partners. The gained transparency can build increased trust and confidence within the implementation framework of investment and enhance successful trade under the AfCFTA. Thus, the digitalization sought after in the implementation of the AfCFTA to drive trade can adopt the online centralization of critical business services to accelerate the gains of the agreement.

The centralization of government services, as is within Kenya’s eCitizen portal, can be utilized in the implementation of the AfCFTA to enhance access and flow of critical Information and services such as on investment, trade rules, and business regulations. African investors and citizens can significantly benefit from a centralized and online access to critical information to drive accelerated gains under the framework. Accessibility to information and services is essential for businesses to thrive and participate actively in the AfCFTA. Thus, such centralized systems across Africa for citizens and businesses can contribute to a reduction in the overall barriers associated with the physical distance of key investment markets and bureaucratic complexities. Importantly, this accessibility would empower businesses and individuals to fully take advantage of opportunities presented by the AfCFTA framework and thus drive inclusive economic growth for the continent.

The African Continental Free Trade Area framework will serve a market population of over 1.3 billion people in over 54 countries which underlines the need for efficient, effective, and timely collaboration to achieve increased success. The implementation of a similar model among nations and within the AfCFTA implementation framework can enhance the ease of collaboration between governments, government agencies, the private sector, and technology experts in enhancing digitalization and the ease of doing business across the continent. This would not only enhance investment efficiency and trade but also innovation allowing African people to leverage digital solutions to address service delivery challenges that have impacted Africa for a long time. Thus, nations need to adapt this collaborative mindset to engage the various stakeholders critical to AfCFTA’s success to drive digital transformation efforts and thus enhance the success of the platform.

Challenges Ahead

While Kenya’s e-Citizen platform provides an inspiring model for African nations and the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement, there are challenges that lie ahead that stakeholders ought to be concerned about. Nations will benefit from building a robust digital infrastructure to allow businesses and individuals to easily access the platform and take advantage of the generated opportunities. Moreover, considering that the platform will deal with critical personal data and information, the AfCFTA framework and African nations ought to be ready to enhance data security should nations embrace the digital model of government service delivery. Moreover, nations will need to address the significant digital divide challenge that affects Africa to ensure that citizens can easily access services from every corner of the continent. Additionally, capacity building and training programs should be implemented to equip citizens and businesses with the necessary digital skills to fully benefit from the AfCFTA.