Implementing a Comprehensive Digital Addressing System: A Step-by-Step Guide Inspired by the Experience of Kanifing Municipality, The Gambia
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LoGRI Policy Brief 11
Digital addressing systems are essential public goods that strengthen city management, improve policy targeting, enhance emergency response, and support delivery services and private-sector innovation. Between July 2021 and February 2022, Kanifing Municipality, the most densely populated area in The Gambia, successfully implemented a Plus Code digital addressing system for its 500,000 residents. The initiative georeferenced 36,000 properties, created a comprehensive municipal address database, and installed address boards across the municipality with national and international institutional support. Kanifing Municipal Council now uses this system to improve the efficiency of core public services, including waste management operations and property tax collection.
Lamin Badji is the Head of the Kanifing Municipal Council’s GIS Unit, Acting Director of the Services Department, and the Operational Lead for the Plus Code project. He brings 20 years of experience within the Council, serving in roles ranging from technician and team supervisor to manager and director.
Cebbina Cheng Wei Lee is the Research Coordinator embedded within the Kanifing Municipal Council in The Gambia. She oversees field activities for a collaborative research project aimed at improving waste collection and property taxation through strengthened data systems, digitalization, and evidence-based policy design. She holds a Master’s in Data, Economics, and Development Policy from MIT.
Justine Knebelmann is a PhD Candidate at the Paris School of Economics. She will be a J-PAL Postdoctoral Associate with DigiFI at MIT in Fall 2021.
Justine studies study fiscal capacity in developing countries. She has been collaborating closely with tax administrations in Sub-Saharan Africa since 2015, and have been managing a digitalization program for property taxes in Senegal.
Her research interests are in the fields of Development, Public Finance, Economic History and Urban economics.
Joseph Levine is a PhD student in the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford. He has previously conducted research with municipal governments in Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Gambia. His research focuses on digitalization and service delivery.
Victor Pouliquen is a Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellow in Economics at Nuffield College and the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford.
His research focuses on how public policies affect formal and informal institutions in developing countries.
Citation: Badji, Lamin., Lee, Cebbina Cheng Wei., Knebelmann, Justine., Levine, Joseph., Pouliquen, Victor. (2025) “Implementing a Comprehensive Digital Addressing System: A Step-by-Step Guide Inspired by the Experience of Kanifing Municipality, The Gambia.” Policy Brief 11. University of Toronto: Local Government Revenue Initiative.
