The Brazilian state of Ceará will advance its government’s digital transformation to increase citizen satisfaction and generate savings in the use of public services through a $31 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
This is the third individual operation and the first to be carried out by a state executive power under the Conditional Credit Line for Investment Projects known as “Brasil Mais Digital.” The $1 billion credit line was approved by the IDB in April 2021 to encourage the country’s digital transformation.
The new credit will finance a program to broaden access to digital public services, enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of public management through digital transformation, and improve digital connectivity in the state of Ceará.
To this end, the loan will help automatize and broaden the offer of digital public services, structuring it through a one-stop portal. It will also enhance transparency, participation, and improve the quality of digital services through control social tools.
The initiative will also support the construction and launch of a governmental innovation center to promote public-private cooperation and the digital economy, developing public employees’ digital skills, and a program to enhance these skills among female civil servants.
The loan will also help increase connectivity by enhancing digital infrastructure, financing the digital transformation of the state Public Ministry, and strengthening management of the so-called Cinturón Digital de Ceará, or Ceará digital belt, created in 2007 to extend coverage and improve the quality of the state’s connectivity, especially in the interior regions.
The project will directly benefit citizens and businesses that rely on state services online through greater availability and efficiency of digital public services, including time savings and lower costs.
The state’s public employees will also benefit from the enhancement of their digital skills and strengthening of the state’s agencies, especially the Public Ministry, thanks to an increase in its services’ effectiveness and efficiency.
This operation is part of Vision 2025 – Reinvesting in the Americas: A Decade of Opportunity, created by the IDB to achieve recovery and inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean in the areas of digital economy, gender and inclusion, and climate change.
The $31 million IDB credit has a 25-year maturity, a grace period of five and a half years, an interest rate based on SOFR, and $7.75 million in local counterpart funds.
About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance, and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.