Geo-Information Services in Côte d’Ivoire: Presentation of CNTIG

Interview with Dr. Edouard Fonh-Gbei, General Secretary of CNTIG (National Committee of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information)

Can you tell us about the services that CNTIG can offer in terms of products, services, applications, etc., not only throughout Côte d’Ivoire but also to private actors?

I am at the head of CNTIG, the National Committee of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information, which offers services of geo-information; we supply maps, decision support applications, economical and statistical studies and consultations regarding investors’ventures taking into account the spatial composition. We develop specialised decision making software that can help with the implantation of a bank or security service for example, which is what we call geo-localisation. This service can also help investors who are prospecting here in Côte d’Ivoire to find the ideal location to set up their investment Visa Vis their competitors. Our services are very transversal; we have the possibility of helping companies that are dealing with mines, companies in a physical buildings, service companies, tertiary service companies such as telecoms, etc. Today, this is a domain that is evolving and which touches almost every sector in the Ivorian economy. CNTIG uses the latest information technology which allows us to be very accurate and innovative in finding solutions to specific problems.

Can you tell us a bit about the work you do for the state and for private entities? Can you tell us about some success cases?

As of two years ago, we have started many projects here for the government as our main mission is to help especially with the economic regrowth in Côte d’Ivoire. We have set up a program for the digitalisation of cadastres which improves the performance of our cadastre services. We have developed a system that we call E-Cadastre; it is an online service of cadastres in Côte d’Ivoire that consists of a computerised and geo-localised database of all of the plots, owners and their financial situations regarding the state. We have started this in 5 cities and it has allowed us to increase the number of cadastres in Côte d’Ivoire, thus the land registry has increased from covering 6% to 11% in just two years. It means the population can go onto this cadastre site and find out about their properties. When you want to start a company in Côte d’Ivoire you need to decide where you would like to locate it. With this E-Cadastre system you are able to access all of this information to make sure that the plot of land you are interested in has not already been bought by someone else. The second project that we have been involved in is the decentralisation of the municipalities in Côte d’Ivoire and the region. For this we have put into place a system that we call E-Commune which helps the municipalities mobilise their own resources for community development. A municipality obviously wants to help its people with the creation of schools, dispensaries etc. but how can they do it if they don’t have the resources? Our system deals with the geo-localisation of all of the economic actors in that area, mapping them and categorising them as tax payers within this system. This application and system has been applied in ten municipalities in Côte d’Ivoire and they have since seen their financial resources increase threefold. This simply applies good governance through geo-localisation and geo-formation. We are also applying this in the different regions, because the law permits us to gather this kind of information for development. We work directly with the Association of Ivorian Regions to be able to do this. It is a project that is currently taking place.

While implementing this project we saw that the civil status system is not always well implemented throughout the country. Each council develops and does what it can. We have launched a project called the System for Civil Status Management in Côte d’Ivoire, which is a central system that will be unique and where anyone can have access via the web and can register births, deaths, marriages etc. Thus today there is no excuse for having double registrations on the system.

Another project that we have advanced is the mapping and addressing of the roads in Côte d’Ivoire. In 2015 we are going to implement navigation tablets, because we have the geographical information and databases regarding Côte d’Ivoire to do so. We are going to be able to incorporate these databases with our software, which is developed here for citizens who want to navigate between the towns of Côte d’Ivoire without getting lost as you would anywhere else worldwide.

As it is our mission to promote this kind of information, we have also created a scientific review paper, which is an international review dedicated to geomatic sciences and research. It is directed by the University Felix Houphouet-Boigny. It is doing well; we see that there is a community that shows good interest in it.

On the 17th, 18th and 19th November we are going to have the International Geomatics Conference in Côte d’Ivoire where we are going to be joined by some of the top names in geomatics. Airbus is going to be here. All of those involved in cartography of the entire region will be present, all of the mayors will be here and all of the civil drone suppliers, etc. We have organised it with the Concours Geo-Talent which allows us to reach investors, especially young Ivorian investors, to encourage them to get involved in this sector. We are going to look at business plans, and we shall look at choosing 2 or 3 people for whom we shall designate awards for work in the geomatics sector.

Some very interesting projects. Can you give us some examples of work you do in the private sector? How can Ivorian or foreign companies use your services?

I shall use the example of banks. A bank in Côte d’Ivoire or a bank interested in setting up in Côte d’Ivoire can use the CNTIG services that we call geo-marketing. We have a database of all the roads and buildings and it is coupled with a database of the financial capacity of the population so that you know the level of means in each neighbourhood. We also know where the competitors are located in the area. We have these studies which allow them to find the optimal location for them to set up their business and make profit. This is an example of our geo-marketing tool.

In terms of an investor interested in coming to Côte d’Ivoire, they are going to need to know the best location for their factory, plantation, cement plant, etc. They want to know where the nearest roads are, the security situation, etc. All of this kind of analysis is done by CNTIG from our database and the knowledge that we have.

What tools that you have developed have you really pushed above all? What are your priorities?

Our priority is to innovate. Today our main project is the mapping of the roads in Côte d’Ivoire, both the technological aspects and the signposting. All of the technical and database aspects are done by us. The signposting requires a lot of investment. We are perhaps going to need some PPP partners. This is the project we have close to our hearts today because we think that navigating a city like Abidjan without a mapping or addressing system could be bad for the economy. We are going to do all that we can to fix that.

The projects that we have done like E-Cadastre and E-Commune have seen concrete results and we continue with these projects.

You mentioned that there are ten municipalities registered I imagine the aim is to have the maximum number of municipalities registered on the E-Commune application?

Yes. E-Commune has been accepted by the Association of Municipalities in Côte d’Ivoire. Thus all of the municipalities in Côte d’Ivoire want to be on this system. CNTIG has a capacity of just 100 people so we can only develop this at a certain rate to be able to offer a quality service. We tend to work with 20 municipalities at a time. Next year we shall continue with this project but it has already been designed and tested.

Does the financing come from the municipality?

It comes from the municipality because it is a project where we have precisely said that if they accept the program they will increase their resources. Thus they make the money back from what the project costs from the increase in their resources. We have not had global financing, but small financing. Here, to do great things you don’t need great means. This is what I say to all of my employees and colleagues; here we don’t have a lot of funds but we do have our brains.

You mentioned partners. What kind of partners do you look for, local or foreign?

We are open to all sorts of partnerships where both parties gain. We are open to people with funds and the technology to help in our projects. We have recruited in North America, France etc. We have some Canadians and North Americans of Ivorian origins that have worked with IBM, Microsoft for example. They are now here at CNTIG and are technically capable. However we do need financing for some specific projects. Thus we would be open to partnerships whether financial or technological. Above all, right now, for the mapping projects, we need tablet manufacturers who can work with us so that we can use the tablets with our software as tools to navigate in Abidjan for example.

Have you yet found such a partner for these tablets?

We are still looking; we have serious contacts but no conclusive deal.

Are there other domains for which you are looking to find financial or technological help?

Now, for the time being it is the mapping and signposting. It is very complex, in part because of the instrumentation, in part the signposting and road naming and also because of the financial organisation. It is a project whose return of investment is not rapidly obvious. Unlike E-commune, the results are not going to be visible in 6 months. Thus where financing is concerned, people will have to be patient with us.

The potential for derivative products is enormous. It is needed by the postal services, by the delivery services, by the security services etc. It is a big market and this project needs to be implemented.

What are the main challenges you face?

As you know, we work in geo information; thus we need information, images in HD, etc. We don’t have any satellites; that’s why we have invited Airbus. They may help us. If they come and work with us and share their expertise it would be great but the idea is to get one station set up which would allow us to get continuous reception of information which we can then manage. We can manage the information but we have not got the technical capacity to capture the information. Airbus can do the planning, test the market to put a spatial station here, not a military station, but a station to have the satellite images that are going to help to monitor the environment, to make plans et. It is something that we want to happen and we have invited Airbus Africa to come and explain how they succeeded in this project in Latin America and so why not in Côte d’Ivoire. This is obviously a long term project because setting up a spatial station for the reception of images is a rather big venture. It needs a lot of investment, installations, qualification of workforce, etc. It is one of our main objectives that this sector could achieve in Côte d’Ivoire and it will benefit the people.

How will this benefit the people?

All of those in the geo-information sector in Côte d’Ivoire have put into place what we call a geo-database where we have all of the geographic databases for all of Côte d’Ivoire. Everyone working in the geomatics sector here can access this database to get the information that they need. However if we have a station that can give us even more information it will be of great benefit. We can even share it with our neighbours to resolve any problems that are cross border issues, environmental or otherwise. This is why we think that it could be of great benefit. At the same time, it is a project that could bring us significant returns, because an image that we can detect at one moment can be used later and can be very important in terms of security, agriculture etc. If you work in the agriculture sector for example in foresting, you can see how much the forest is disappearing and so you can evaluate the potential in that business via this tool but at the moment we aren´t able to do this. The more we can identify with these kinds of tools the more services we can offer. Real time images for example are of considerable importance.

Do you work with your neighbouring countries or with other countries in West Africa?

Well, we began organising the International Geomatics Conference two years ago and all of these countries came and attended the conference. We had people from Senegal, Mali, Niger, etc., particularly the directors of the Centres like ours in the respective countries. They were impressed with the advances that we have made. Some of them want to come and learn here. For the second conference, we have planned to include some educational courses. For now, this is the extent of our working together, if we had a station that would increase but I think for now each country takes care of its own imaging with either Russian or Indian satellites.

In terms of players in this sector here, are you the leaders? How do you compare to the others and what sets you apart?

Well CNTIG from its very creation is the supreme body in this sector and which coordinates all of the policies from the government to do with geomatics. So we don´t have any competitors as such. Other countries may do things differently but we feel that for us this is the best way forward. We have been able to define terms for equipment because working in the geomatics sector means using a lot of large equipment.We have asked that every institute be equipped properly so that they can employ sufficient people. This investment has been made and these kinds of acquisitions of computers and software etc. have been made. That is the institutional aspect we have done. We are pioneers in terms of extraction of information and in implementing decision making applications. This is what CNTIG must do so that we can be an example for the others, which is what we have done with E-Commune, etc.

We don’t have competitors. It is like in France with the IGN, the National Geographic Institute, they don’t have competitors as they are a body that helps to harmonise the sector and gives the modern edge to the sector; that is what we are doing here.

What are your medium term goals? What is your vision for CNTIG in a few years’ time?

Firstly, we have to reinforce our capacity. We need to raise awareness among the decision makers through the many working groups that we have launched in geo-information, codification, deployment, environmental management etc. Today CNTIG is located solely in Abidjan, but we want to have divisions in each region. In the medium term we want to have divisions that are close to the municipalities we work with so that we can assist them as much as necessary. We would like to have divisions covering all of the country. This will also help us to improve the quality of the databases that we collect, especially when we have satellite imaging, which is something we aren´t able to do at the moment.

There are lots of companies in this sector that generate employment. We have done our studies; this is a sector that in the next ten years could generate 8,000 billion Ivorian francs. We believe that 85% of this sector is not yet even occupied. Thus there is a lotof possibility for growth and this sector can create more than 10,000 direct jobs, not counting indirect employment. It is a sector that can boost the Ivorian economy and reduce unemployment providing good quality jobs thus having a great impact on the population.

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