Brazil - Brazilian States and Municipalities Digital Acceleration Project

Overview & Synopsis

Brazilian States and Municipalities Digital Acceleration Project for Brazil has the development objectives to expand financing to increase access to and inclusive use of broadband internet and digital government services in underserved states and municipalities. Component 1: Strengthening the Borrower’s and Eligible Beneficiaries Capacity to Implement Digital Transformation supports advisory and implementation capabilities to ensure a sustainable digital transformation pipeline and effective project delivery. Sub-components: Sub-component 1.1 provides technical assistance to Caixa Economica Federal (CEF) to build internal expertise in structuring digital projects, including support for public-private partnerships (PPPs), service design lab functions to co-create digital solutions with municipalities, mechanisms to aggregate demand and standardize procurements, and the development and application of environmental and social guidelines with climate resilience criteria. Sub-component 1.2 provides technical assistance to eligible state and municipal borrowers to diagnose needs, prepare digital strategies and sub-projects, implement solutions, engage in peer-to-peer learning, and apply CEF’s environmental and social guidelines to integrate sustainability and climate risk management into each sub-project. Component 2: Financing Sub-projects provides financial intermediation through CEF for demand-driven sub-projects aligned with the National Digital Government Strategy, focusing on market-failure contexts and on municipalities and states with minimum digital maturity and creditworthiness. Sub-components: Sub-component 2.1 finances digital infrastructure to bridge first- and middle-mile gaps, modernize networks, and build climate-resilient, energy-efficient data infrastructure and cloud solutions, including technical studies that define adaptation and mitigation standards embedded in municipal evaluation and CEF sustainability practices. Sub-component 2.2 finances digital public services by expanding one-stop portals, adopting digital public infrastructure (DPI) such as secure digital identity and data exchange platforms, strengthening cybersecurity and data protection, fostering a GovTech ecosystem and PPPs, and enhancing climate resilience of services through interoperable platforms that support alerts and continuity of operations during extreme weather events. Sub-component 2.3 finances digital skills through training programs for citizens, public servants, and businesses that address basic to advanced competencies, include targeted initiatives to reduce the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), incorporate modules on technology-facilitated gender-based violence prevention and response, and establish climate-resilient public spaces for inclusive learning to sustain the use of digitally enabled services.