A Great Lakes trade facilitation programme delivered as a national digital platform.
The Great Lakes Trade Facilitation and Integration Project (PFCIGL) is a World Bank funded programme that strengthens trade and economic connectivity between Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. The programme covers four strategic axes: simplification of procedures, digitalisation of borders, promotion of exports, and certification and standards, alongside an infrastructure track covering border posts, lake ports, access roads, and cross-border markets. PANEOTECH was engaged to design and deliver a unified national digital platform presenting the entire programme, its strategic axes, geolocated intervention sites, results indicators, thematic data stories, and centralised administration by the Project Management Unit (UGP) at the Ministry of Commerce in Bujumbura.
A bilingual platform structured around eight thematic modules.
PANEOTECH delivered a fully responsive web platform, bilingual French and English, structured around the eight thematic modules of the programme. Each thematic module combines a narrative presentation of the issues, results indicators that the UGP can update, a GIS map of the relevant intervention sites, geolocated photo galleries of works in progress, and downloadable reports in PDF format. The platform serves simultaneously as a public accountability tool, an information portal for trade operators, and a content management system for the Ministry of Commerce teams.
Border posts, lake ports, access roads, and cross-border markets, all clickable.
The GIS mapping component is built on Leaflet and OpenStreetMap, with overlay layers for border posts (Kobero, Mugina, Gatumba, Kanyaru-Haut, Akanyaru), Lake Tanganyika ports (Bujumbura, Rumonge), the main access roads, and the cross-border markets at Gatumba, Rumonge, Bukavu, Kavimvira, Kasindi, and Bunagana. Each geographic point is clickable and presents a detailed information card (description, works progress status, photos, traffic indicators), and feeds the programme analytical dashboards. The whole stack is accessible directly in the browser, with no additional install required.
A custom CMS sized to the Project Management Unit's reality.
PANEOTECH delivered a custom content management system that allows the UGP to create, edit, publish and archive content without external technical intervention: news, reports, results indicators, site photos, videos, press releases. Editorial workflows are integrated with the publication pipeline, and the system supports media management, structured taxonomy for thematic tagging, and version history.
Geolocated impact narratives for donors, government, and the public.
The platform integrates a geolocated data stories module, allowing the UGP to tell impact stories on the ground by combining text, photos, interactive maps, and quantified indicators on a single narrative page. This format has been particularly appreciated by the World Bank and the Ministry of Commerce for communicating with the wider public, with donors, and with the media.
Five-person capacity programme for sustained ownership.
PANEOTECH delivered training to the focal points of the Project Management Unit and to the cadres of the Ministry of Commerce on platform administration, content updates, GIS map management, and analysis of usage statistics. A five-person capacity transfer programme was validated covering platform handling, content updates, day-to-day administration, and quality good practice. Full user and administrator documentation was delivered, and the team accompanied the live launch with post-deployment technical support.
