Table of Contents
TL;DR,
- To improve its low 165th global ranking on the UN E-Government Development Index, Mauritania is implementing a strategic blockchain governance policy to modernize public administration.
- The Ministry of Digital Transformation (MTNIMA) is prioritizing blockchain not just for finance, but to secure land rights, streamline procurement, and combat corruption through increased transparency.
- Despite infrastructure challenges like low smartphone penetration, Mauritania is building data centers and partnering with the UN to make digital assets the core of its 2022–2025 transformation agenda.
Africa’s approach to digital assets is more of a domino effect. When one nation was skeptical about cryptocurrency, the majority followed, and now when everyone is pro-digital assets, every regulatory body follows suit.
This time the latest addition is Mauritania, and yes, it exists. The region’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, Innovation, and Administration Modernization (MTNIMA) recently convened to discuss a nationwide movement toward blockchain governance.
The nation envisions an ESCWA (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) blockchain partnership placing blockchain for public services at the center of Mauritania’s modernization push.
When everyone else moves to adopt digital assets, Mauritania shifts to make blockchain the lifeblood of its digital transformation.
Turning the Tide on a Low E-Government Ranking
The MTNIMA initially held the forum with its government officials to discuss finance, academia, and how the nation intends to implement the next step in its National Digital Transformation Agenda 2022–2025.
Initially the plan intends to take its e-government platform to the next step, rising higher than its current 165th rank on the global UN E‑Government Development Index (EGDI). Blockchain technology offers transparency, accountability, and efficiency, factors MTNIMA is ready to adopt.
Adopting this technology would mean procedures, lower costs, and better-quality services for citizens, alongside a more attractive climate for domestic and international investment in digital finance and innovation.
So, the organization proposed a national blockchain policy that would be a guideline to implementing blockchain governance. Many African nations treat digital assets purely as a form to improve the finance sector, but for Mauritania, it’s digital trust and a practical use of blockchain for public services.
The national blockchain policy avoids bureaucratic jargon, focusing on improving its 4.7 million population. Having a national blockchain system has its own perks, and for Mauritanians, it’s property registration, commercial record-keeping, public procurement processes, and natural resource tracking.
Like many nations, this policy targets its growing corruption rate while improving efficiency; a ranking of 165 speaks a lot about efficiency. Advocating for blockchain for public services ensures accelerated administrative procedures while reducing associated costs.
Capacity building is baked in. MTNIMA plans to update university curricula, launch pilot projects and experimental models, and create opportunities for youth entrepreneurship. The ESCWA blockchain partnership generally provides the much-needed technical expertise and international credibility.
The Ministry hosted a consultative forum at its headquarters, in partnership with the UN Economic and Social Committee for West Asia (ESCWA)
Stakeholders from all levels of government, banks, and universities were there because this big project needs support from all parts of the institution. Teaching digital skills is both a technological goal and an economic necessity in a country where 84% of jobs are in the informal economy and youth unemployment remains very high.
What could slow implementation?
Most of Africa’s problems could be solved by setting up a blockchain governance system across the country, but the process isn’t without its problems. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says that blockchain could be useful for public services. It provides a better ID system, better security and tracking in finance, and can secure interagency information sharing.
But the downsides still exist. Currently most blockchain systems are either publicly available or stringently controlled by one entity. This raises issues such as data immutability complications and privacy concerns. Furthermore, a national blockchain system includes a ridiculous amount of data, meaning storage will rival even AI datasets.
Blockchain also comes with its fair share of issues, such as high initial costs and scalability constraints. Uploading such vast amounts of data to a third-party entity is something no nation will do, meaning they have to create their own.
Mauritania also has various infrastructure issues. Among Africa’s lowest rates, smartphone penetration hovers around 20%, with internet access primarily concentrated in urban centers, particularly Nouakchott. This digital divide means that blockchain-based services, no matter how theoretically cool they are, might not be available to people in rural areas, who make up most of the population.
That being said, the capacity of institutions is getting better. Authorities inaugurated a tier-3 data center in Nouakchott in May 2025, with partial funding from the European Investment Bank. This infrastructure will provide secure and reliable public platforms.
The National Digital Transformation Agenda
The Mauritania blockchain policy sits among the pillars of its National Digital Transformation Agenda. Simultaneously, the Central Bank launched Mauritania’s first national financial inclusion strategy in May 2025, targeting 63% financial inclusion by 2028 (from its current baseline level of 21–30%).
MTNIMA is gunning for a convergent approach embedding blockchain as a link to incentivize its grand ambitions. The region is already open to the new technology, explicitly making cryptocurrency mining legal. While most African nations race to get their legal papers in check, this particular region focuses mainly on adoption. In 2024 the Central Bank of Mauritania partnered with German security technology firm Giesecke and Devrient to design a digital version of the ouguiya currency. Governor Mohamed Lemine Ould Dhehby explicitly framed this Central Bank Digital Currency project as advancing financial inclusion and macroeconomic stability.
The policy itself is still in its first stages; implementing it would require realistic planning and budgeting to ensure its success. Ultimately it depends on how well its blockchain association and governments push to make an ideal into a reality.
