Central Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (WB-P512158)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Central African Republic
  • Congo, Republic of
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Gabon
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Apr 12, 2027
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), and others
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Communications
  • Infrastructure
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant, Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 213.01 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Grant Amount (USD)
$ 52.50 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 265.51 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Sep 19, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Jun 4, 2026

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Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the CARDIP MPA program development objective (PrDO) is: 'Increase the use of affordable internet and digital services, and integrate digital markets in participating countries.

The Central Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (CARDIP) is a multi-phase programmatic approach (MPA) that aims to accelerate digital transformation and deepen regional integration by addressing key constraints in connectivity, digital adoption, and fragmented markets across Central Africa. Its Program Development Objective is to increase affordable internet access and use of digital services, and integrate digital markets in participating countries. To achieve this, CARDIP supports coordinated investments in resilient and affordable broadband infrastructure - including cross-border connectivity - while strengthening policy and regulatory frameworks, data governance, and cybersecurity to enable trusted data exchange and interoperability.

Crucially, the program places a strong emphasis on driving digital adoption by expanding the availability and usability of high-impact digital services, scaling Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) such as digital ID, payments, and data exchange platforms, and investing in digital skills, awareness, and user-centric design to ensure that individuals, businesses, and governments not only have access to connectivity but are able and incentivized to use digital technologies productively. The program places strong emphasis on inclusion, ensuring that underserved populations - particularly women, youth, rural communities, and refugees and host communities - can access connectivity, build relevant skills, and translate digital access into tangible economic opportunities and improved access to services.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The environmental risk of Phase 1 of the Central Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (CARDIP) is rated Substantial, reflecting the combination of physical digital infrastructure investments and the sensitive and capacity-constrained contexts of the participating countries (Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon). Phase 1 will finance terrestrial backbone and cross-border connectivity, network redundancy, and foundational digital infrastructure, which entail construction-related activities that may result in land disturbance, vegetation clearing, waste and e-waste generation, localized air and noise pollution, and occupational health and safety risks. These risks are heightened by the region’s high environmental sensitivity, including extensive tropical forests and biodiversity-rich ecosystems, as well as FCV conditions particularly in the Central African Republic where baseline data, access, and environmental oversight are often limited. In addition, uneven institutional capacity for environmental management and contractor supervision, combined with the multi-country and cross-border nature of the investments, increases the likelihood of cumulative and coordination-related environmental risks during early implementation.

The social risk associated with the Central Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (CARDIP) is assessed as Substantial. This rating reflects the combination of (i) the fragile and conflict-affected contexts in which the project will be implemented; (ii) the regional, multi-country nature of the operation; (iii) the scale and geographic dispersion of infrastructure investments; (iv) significant capacity constraints among Borrowers and implementing agencies; and (v) the presence of vulnerable populations, including refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), women, youth, and marginalized rural communities. These risks include potential for social exclusion, risks associated with moderate labor influx into vulnerable communities including SEA/SH, economic and physical displacement, and labor issues.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Total Project Cost: US$ 265.51 million
World Bank Group Financing:
Loan: US$ 213.01 million
Grant: US$ 52.50 million


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

CONTACT POINT - World Bank

Task Team Leader: Camila Mejia Giraldo
Title: Senior Digital Specialist
Email: cmejiagiraldo@worldbank.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

How it works

How it works