The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Digital Malawi Program Phase I: Malawi Digital Foundations Project (P160533) Digital Malawi Program Phase I: Malawi Digital Foundations Project (P160533) AFRICA EAST | Malawi | Digital Development Global Practice | IBRD/IDA | Investment Project Financing | FY 2017 | Seq No: 9 | ARCHIVED on 24-Jan-2022 | ISR49950 | Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Public Private Partnership Commission, Ministry to Information and Communications Technology, Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date: 05-Jun-2017 Effectiveness Date: 03-Aug-2018 Planned Mid Term Review Date: 12-Jul-2021 Actual Mid-Term Review Date: 12-Jul-2021 Original Closing Date: 30-Jun-2022 Revised Closing Date: 30-Jun-2022 pdoTable Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) To increase access to affordable, high quality internet services for government, businesses and citizens and to improve the government's capacity to deliver digital public services. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No Components Table Name Digital Ecosystem:(Cost $9.50 M) Digital Connectivity:(Cost $34.00 M) Digital Platforms and Services:(Cost $23.90 M) Project Management:(Cost $5.00 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Moderate Moderate Implementation Status and Key Decisions The key achievements of the project since the last ISR submitted in July 2021, are summarized below:  Free Public WiFi: As part of the COVID-19 response, the project supported provision of free Wi-Fi connectivity for 30 critical public institutions. Public launch of free WiFi took place in October and received wide media coverage. Free wifi sites included 8 hospitals, 16 schools, 4 libraries and 2 markets with the aim to ensure much needed business continuity during COVID-19 pandemic and to allow the public in nearby areas to get free internet access. These institutions and locations were selected in close consultations with Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Education (MoE). Following the success of this initiative, a second round of sites will be served under the project restructuring. 1/24/2022 Page 1 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Digital Malawi Program Phase I: Malawi Digital Foundations Project (P160533)  MAREN, the national research and education network, has connected 43 out of 61 universities sites as of November 2021. This number has increased from 28 which was reported during the last mission in July. This resulted in over 76,177 students benefiting from improved internet access, of whom 49% are women. Connecting the remaining 18 sites is work in progress, and a total of 61 universities are expected to be connected by the end of 2021.  Eduroam: Of a total of seven Campuses to be connected through “Eduroam” which is an international WiFi internet access roaming service for users in research and higher education, two sites (University of Malawi (UNIMA) and Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS)) started providing services for students, with two additional sites (College of Medicine (COM) and Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN)) almost completed and waiting for the delivery of the core switches and one site (Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST)) piloting as of mid-November. The remaining two sites (Mzuzu University (MZUNI) and Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)) will initiate deployment once the Forex is procured.  A total of $2.0 million Grants was allocated for tech Hubs: A total of US$2 million in grants have been issued to six tech hubs, namely mHub, Mzuzu Entrepreneurs, Dzuka Africa, Growth Africa, Takeno Lab and Ntha Foundation. The hubs are expected to have trained up to 4,500 Malawian youth (with a target of at least 50% women) in digital skills and entrepreneurship and to link them up with jobs. The grant scheme led to the scaling up of at least two female led hubs, Ntha Foundation and Dzuka Africa. A total of 250 computers were also procured to be used by the hubs to support their training initiatives.  Students with internet access: The number of Higher Education students provided with enhanced access to the internet under this project has well exceeded its end target of 10,000 with the actual number of students now reaching 46,605 as of December 2021..  Data Protection: The draft Data Protection and Privacy Law which incorporates inputs from various consultations was submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (MoJCA) for further processing, including tabling this important piece of legislation in Parliament.  Procurement: Good progress was made to advance major procurements, notably on Government connectivity, Data Center, and Government eProcurement, the bidding deadlines for which all closed before the end of 2021. Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance Substantial High Substantial Macroeconomic Substantial Substantial Substantial Sector Strategies and Policies Substantial High Substantial Technical Design of Project or Program Moderate Moderate Moderate Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Moderate High Substantial Sustainability Fiduciary Moderate Moderate Moderate Environment and Social Moderate Substantial Substantial Stakeholders Moderate Moderate Moderate Other -- -- -- Overall Moderate Moderate Moderate Results PDO Indicators by Objectives / Outcomes 1/24/2022 Page 2 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Digital Malawi Program Phase I: Malawi Digital Foundations Project (P160533) Increase access to affordable, high quality services IN01091355 ►Internet Users per 100 people (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 17.60 37.00 37.00 30.00 Date 30-Dec-2016 01-Apr-2021 01-Apr-2021 30-Jun-2022 The number of people with increased access to affordable high quality internet services has increased during the period under review and the target is exceeded. The target will be raised as part of the project Comments: restructuring. IN01091362 ►Retail Price of Pre-Paid Mobile Broadband Monthly Bundle, 500MB Data Volume (Amount(USD), Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 4.08 2.70 2.70 3.00 Date 30-Dec-2016 01-Apr-2021 01-Apr-2021 30-Jun-2022 It was reported that the continued support for reforms has led to a reduction in retail data prices as of September 30 2020. Both Airtel and TNM reduced their retail data prices for out of bundle/pay as you go Comments: services in Quarter 3 of 2020. The two operators provide broadband internet to about 5,950,000 subscribers. IN01091364 ►Number of Public Institutions Utilizing High Speed Internet Connections Under the Project (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 53.00 53.00 400.00 Date 02-Jun-2017 28-Jul-2021 28-Jul-2021 30-Jun-2022 The feasibility study for the provision of connectivity to 500 public institutions has been completed and approved by the PPPC Board and the bidding process is now closed, with contracts to be awarded in early 2022. The indicator measures the number of sites within government institutions that have Comments: been provided with enhanced connectivity. This should thus increase substantially once this contract is implemented. In the meantime, the recorded indicators relates to other contracts, notably for MAREN and GLAN. IN01091366 ►Direct project beneficiaries (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 35,271.00 4,337,750.00 6,280,000.00 Date 02-Jun-2017 28-Jul-2021 31-Dec-2021 30-Jun-2022 Discussions during the December 2021 Implementation Support Mission confirmed the methodology to be used for this indicator is the increase in internet users compared with the baseline of start of 2017. Comments: According to MACRA figures, at that point there were an estimated 3.294 m internet users, As of end 2021, this had increased to 7.621 m internet users, implying an increment of 4.327 m internet users. 1/24/2022 Page 3 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Digital Malawi Program Phase I: Malawi Digital Foundations Project (P160533) IN01091367 Female beneficiaries (Percentage, Custom Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 46.00 41.40 41.40 48.00 Improve the government's capacity to deliver digital public services IN01091361 ►Number of Transactions Per Year Utilizing the Shared Digital Services Platform (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 25,000.00 Date 02-Jun-2017 28-Jul-2021 28-Jul-2021 30-Jun-2022 The shared digital services platform has not yet been launched. This indicator should increase Comments: significantly with the launch of the Government e{Procurement system. IN01091363 ►People obtaining new digital skills or knowledge under the project (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 2,116.00 2,116.00 1,500.00 Date 02-Jun-2017 28-Jul-2021 28-Jul-2021 30-Jun-2022 The project has been providing capacity building training for project stakeholders to support efficient implementation and sustainability. This training has expanded across MDAs and other key stakeholders. Comments: The target for this indicator will be increased at the time of the project restructuring. IN01091365 Of which, Percentage of Women and Girls obtaining new digital skills or knowledge under the project (Percentage, Custom Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 51.40 51.40 50.00 Overall Comments PDO These indicators will be revised as part of the project restructuring, with some indicators raised. As of December 2021, three out of six PDO indicators have been met or exceeded. Intermediate Results Indicators by Components Digital Ecosystem IN01091368 ►Publication and Adoption of National Strategies for Broadband Access and Digital Government (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target 1/24/2022 Page 4 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Digital Malawi Program Phase I: Malawi Digital Foundations Project (P160533) Value 0.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 Date 02-Jun-2017 23-Nov-2020 23-Nov-2020 30-Jun-2022 The digital government strategy has been approved, adopted and signed by the office of the President. The National Broadband Strategy was approved by the principal secretaries in August 2019 and revisions Comments: were requested by the Office of the President which were completed and resubmitted for signature. IN01091371 ►Average wholesale monthly price per Mbit/s of international internet bandwidth (Amount(USD), Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 466.00 85.00 85.00 50.00 Date 28-Feb-2017 28-Jul-2021 28-Jul-2021 30-Jun-2022 Wholesale prices for international bandwidth continue to fall, and are expected to fall further once the results of the government connectivity transaction are announced.. With continued reforms on MACRA's Comments: end it is expected that further reductions will occur Digital Connectivity IN01091369 ►Percentage of the population covered by at least a 3G mobile network (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 32.00 86.00 86.00 60.00 Date 31-Dec-2015 28-Jul-2021 28-Jul-2021 30-Jun-2022 This target has already been significantly exceeded. This indicator target will be raised as part of the Comments: project restructuring. IN01091372 ►Number of Higher Education Students Provided with Enhanced with Access to the Internet Under the Project (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 34,061.00 46,604.00 10,000.00 Date 02-Jun-2017 28-Jul-2021 31-Dec-2021 30-Jun-2022 This indicator has already been significantly exceeded and will be raised during the project restructuring. Comments: Digital Platforms and Services IN01091370 ►Number of e-Services and Applications Utilizing the Shared Services Platform (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 8.00 1/24/2022 Page 5 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Digital Malawi Program Phase I: Malawi Digital Foundations Project (P160533) Date 02-Jun-2017 28-Jul-2021 31-Dec-2021 30-Jun-2022 Digital Malawi will deploy a shared services platform as a foundation for the digitization of government operations. The shared platform includes a data center, enterprise service bus, mobile Comments: gateway and digital services portal. The indicator is defined as count of the systems, pre-existing or otherwise, that will connect to the shared platform. IN01091373 ►Number of MDAs and LGAs using eProcurement System (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.00 Date 02-Jun-2017 28-Jul-2021 28-Jul-2021 30-Jun-2022 The bidding process for this procurement closed in December 2021 and the contract should be awarded Comments: in early 2022, making achievement of this indicator possible. IN01091374 ►Digital services developed based on priorities identified through citizen engagement (Yes/No) (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No No Yes Yes Date 02-Jun-2017 28-Jul-2021 31-Dec-2021 30-Jun-2022 The Public WiFi project fulfils requirements for a priority activity identified through citizen engagement, and Comments: in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall Comments IR All indicators will be revised as part of the project restructuring, and selected targets will be increased. As of December 2021, and some four out of seven intermediate indicators have been met or exceeded. Performance-Based Conditions Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P160533 IDA-60500 Effective USD 72.40 72.40 0.00 27.98 46.61 38% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P160533 IDA-60500 Effective 05-Jun-2017 09-Jul-2018 03-Aug-2018 30-Jun-2022 30-Jun-2022 1/24/2022 Page 6 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Digital Malawi Program Phase I: Malawi Digital Foundations Project (P160533) Cumulative Disbursements PBC Disbursement Achievement Disbursed amount in Disbursement % PBC ID PBC Type Description Coc PBC Amount Status Coc for PBC Restructuring History There has been no restructuring to date. Related Project(s) There are no related projects. 1/24/2022 Page 7 of 7