Enabling Digital Governance: Developing a Digital Signature Solution for Djibouti's E-Cabinet

Electronic identity and digital signature are fundamental pillars of e-governance, yet their necessity often becomes apparent only after digital services are introduced. In low egovernment maturity contexts, governments may initiate their transition to paperless workflows and transparent decisionmaking through isolated e-cabinet systems but risk overlooking the foundational need for e-identity and digital signature. For an e-cabinet system to function effectively, these capabilities are essential to enable secure and transparent ministerial workflows. This paper explores strategies for rapidly deploying a secure digital signature system to support Djibouti's digital transformation towards paperless governance under the GovStack initiative. Given that a full-scale public key infrastructure (PKI) requires a mature ecosystem with significant time and resources, this study outlines digital signature requirements that can serve as a short-term e-identity and digital signature solution for e-cabinet and other government systems until a nationwide framework is developed. Using a design science research approach, the authors conducted field visits and interviews with Djibouti's public sector stakeholders through the GovStack initiative. The study develops and evaluates a production ready artefact for an e-identity and digital signature solution, tested within Djibouti's governmental framework. The findings provide practical insights into implementing secure digital governance solutions in low-resource environments, with a focus on enabling e-cabinet systems.