Liberia has signed a nonbinding agreement with Indian technology company Blue Cloud Softech Solutions Ltd. to develop national digital infrastructure, including a sovereign data center, cloud services and cybersecurity systems, as the West African country explores artificial intelligence tools for mining oversight.
The memorandum of understanding, signed July 31, was concluded between Blue Cloud Softech, Liberia’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Global Council for Investment and Business for Africa. It provides a framework for planning, financing and implementing the Liberia National Digital Infrastructure Project through a public-private partnership.
The proposed infrastructure will include a national data center and sovereign cloud, a cybersecurity operations center, digital identity and payments systems, government networks, e-government services, 5G infrastructure and artificial-intelligence applications, according to a statement from Blue Cloud Softech.
The parties plan to establish a Liberian special-purpose vehicle to develop, finance, own and operate the project, subject to feasibility studies and definitive agreements. Blue Cloud Softech’s role in financing, implementing and operating the infrastructure remains on a best-efforts basis and isn’t binding at this stage.
The agreement has an initial term of 24 months, and no payment is due from either party under the memorandum, the company said.
The deal follows a separate, nonbinding expression of interest submitted by Blue Cloud Softech and the council to Liberia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy on July 29. That proposal covers AI-powered mine surveillance, a digital mining-licensing portal, environmental and safety sensors, a national mining command-and-control center and 5G fixed wireless access.
The mining proposal is expected to proceed to a joint feasibility assessment, according to the company. It is separate from the national digital infrastructure memorandum, though both initiatives are part of a broader technology partnership between Blue Cloud Softech and the council.
The company also signed a memorandum with the council in Senegal in April for a proposed digital-factory venture covering information technology, health care, infrastructure, education and renewable energy.
“Liberia represents more than a single project for us,” Blue Cloud Softech Chief Executive Officer Mudraganam Chandrashekar said in the statement. “Our ambition is to build sovereign cloud, cybersecurity and digital public infrastructure that West African nations can genuinely own and rely on.”
The projects remain subject to due diligence, feasibility studies and final contracts.
- Oracle News Daily
