Estonian representative in Tanzania as part of EU Twinning project

Margus Mägi, Digital4Tanzania’s (D4T) Estonian representative and resident twinning advisor, is in Tanzania to initiate the project’s next phase. Since launching in October 2023, D4T has aimed to contribute to Tanzania's digital transformation by supporting e-government reform and improved connectivity.

This Twinning project is a collaboration between the German development cooperation agency (GIZ), the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV) and the Finnish Institute of Public Administration (HAUS).

At the end of March, Estonian experts and their Tanzanian partners analysed the critical documents outlining the Interoperability Framework and Enterprise Architecture Framework of Tanzania. "Many thanks to EU Delegation in Tanzania and local Ministry of Information, Communications, and IT, also everyone else with whom we have worked in the last months so that we can proceed with the project's next steps," Mägi said.

D4T activities are divided into three major areas:

• GIZ is responsible for developing the Tanzanian government’s digital capacities and skills and supporting the private sector’s cybersecurity, privacy and data protection framework.
• ESTDEV will lead the drive to strengthen data management and the interoperability framework and support governance skills to enable an inclusive, transparent, efficient and data-driven public sector.
• HAUS will support the private sector’s improvement of digital skills and know-how and develop the research community’s insight into cybersecurity, privacy and data protection while also addressing the digital gender divide.

"Twinning is essentially a public sector cooperation project financed by the European Union, in which the public sector of an EU member state shares its experience with colleagues from a country outside the EU. It is not a service that donors unilaterally organise and offer, but the project's activities are carried out in close cooperation with the public sector organisations of the partner country, taking into account their situation and needs," said Mägi.

Estonia's unique experience with digital transformation is highly valued worldwide, making Estonia a desired partner for EU projects in this space. "This kind of development of the interoperability framework at the national level, including the entire regulatory side, is very good to be done from country to country in cooperation with the Twinning instrument. It is also a good basis for promoting business diplomacy and an opportunity for Estonian experts and companies to get to know new countries. From such projects, we also gain experience on how to run things in this region," said Mägi.

"The interest in Estonia's digitalisation experience is also great in African countries that are not Estonia's priority countries. Of course, we are ready to share our experience building a digital state and e-governance with all countries. Estonia has a large network of experts, and both Estonia and Tanzania have much to learn from this twinning," said Andres Ääremaa, ESTDEV’s programme manager for digital transformation.

The project began last October with a joint visit of all three consortium partners to Tanzania. The consortium includes the Estonian Center for International Development (ESTDEV), the Finnish Institute of Public Administration (HAUS), the German development cooperation agency (GIZ), and the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. The local partner is the Ministry of Information, Communications, and Information Technology of Tanzania.