Cybernetica to bring Estonian e-governance model to West Africa

TALLINN - Estonian technology company Cybernetica has signed a new multi-year agreement with the government of Benin to take the West African country's digital services to the next level.

Cybernetica will upgrade and maintain Benin's national public services portal and data exchange platform, enabling government agencies to provide e-services to citizens.

In recent years, Benin has rapidly advanced its digital governance with the help of Estonian technology. Today, more than 50 government institutions in the country use Cybernetica’s solutions, offering nearly 270 digital services that simplify administrative processes and improve government efficiency. In 2024, Benin surpassed the African average in the UN e-Government Development Index, demonstrating that investments in digital solutions pay off.

"Cybernetica's cooperation with the government of Benin has been very successful -- we see their strong commitment to digital transformation, which is crucial for these types of projects to succeed, and we are pleased to be part of that success," Cybernetica CEO Oliver Väärtnõu said.

"Digital public services have become a cornerstone of Benin's growing economy and society, and the upcoming changes over the next few years will accelerate this progress even further," he added.

With the current systems, Benin now processes over three million automated data exchanges each month, reducing paperwork and speeding up document handling. The country uses Cybernetica's Unified eXchange Platform as its national data exchange system. This platform is built on the principles of Estonia’s X-Road technology, recognized as one of the most secure and efficient solutions for managing sensitive government and citizen data exchanges.

In this new phase of cooperation, Cybernetica will support Benin in managing its citizen portal, which serves as a hub for public e-services. The company will also continue providing assistance with further implementation and integration of the data exchange platform, making communication between government agencies and citizens even smoother.

Cybernetica is one of Estonia's leading technology companies, with more than 25 years of experience in developing e-government technologies. The company has created the core technology for the Smart-ID authentication system, SplitKey, as well as Estonia's primary data exchange platform, X-Road, and the country's internet voting system. Over the past decade, Cybernetica has exported its technologies and implemented e-governance projects in numerous countries, including Ukraine, Japan, Benin, Tunisia, the Bahamas, Greenland, and others.