The Congolese diaspora and the DRC’s digital transformation: connecting skills to jobs

The problem

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has started a digital transformation of its public administration and economy. The starting point is low: the country ranks 179th of 193 on the United Nations E-Government Development Index in 2024.

At the same time, Congolese women and men living in Canada, Europe and elsewhere work in digital technology, engineering, health care and business. Many want to contribute. As far as we know, public plans do not yet offer a simple framework to do so, remotely or on the ground.

The facts and their sources

The World Bank’s DRC Digital Transformation Project (P180495) was approved on 27 June 2024 and became effective on 24 June 2025. It combines US$400 million from the International Development Association (IDA) with a €100 million sovereign loan from the Agence française de développement. It is due to close on 31 December 2029.

Personal remittances received by the DRC reached about US$3.32 billion in 2025, or 3.65% of GDP, according to the World Bank. The series swings sharply: about US$2.00 billion in 2024 and US$3.30 billion in 2023. These figures exclude informal channels. The money mostly pays for household needs.

The legal framework for the sector is set by the Digital Code (Ordinance-Law No. 23/010 of 13 March 2023, ratified by Law No. 23/011 of 22 May 2023).

Article 10 of the Constitution states that Congolese nationality “is one and exclusive” and “cannot be held concurrently with any other”. A person of Congolese origin who becomes Canadian is therefore, in principle, a foreigner under Congolese law, which complicates returning, investing and taking part in public programmes.

In Canada, the Prime Minister launched Digital Transformation Canada on 3 September 2026. It plans a fellowship model to bring private-sector expertise into government for short-term assignments. It is a source of inspiration, not a template to copy.

Who decides

In the DRC, decisions rest mainly with the ministries responsible for digital affairs and telecommunications, the Digital Development Agency attached to the Presidency, the Central Bank of the Congo for payments, and the services responsible for the diaspora. Donors, including the World Bank and AFD, fund part of the investment.

RINET Center holds no mandate from these institutions. It is a Canadian non-profit putting forward a proposal.

Options and trade-offs

There are three ways to mobilize diaspora skills.

Calls to return home: visible and quick to launch, but they ask for an all-or-nothing commitment and leave little behind.
One-off hiring by institutions: useful for specific roles, but slow and dependent on personal connections.
A gradual, transparent framework: everyone starts remotely, then may move on to short missions or longer stays. This requires coordination, clear governance and published results.

RINET Center’s proposal

We propose to design that gradual framework under the working name Mboka Numérique (“mboka” means home, one’s country, in Lingala). It would connect the diaspora’s talent and means with young people and Congolese institutions, through five strands:

Talent: remote contributions, short missions and stays of 12 to 24 months.
Youth: training in trades that pay online, with mentors from the diaspora.
Export: helping artisans and small businesses sell online by removing payment and logistics barriers.
Invest: information and project preparation, without asking for money until trust is established.
Status: working with lawyers on possible options for Congolese people who have taken another nationality.

Status and next steps

This is a working paper dated 30 October 2026. It does not commit any institution and is not a public programme, a fund or an open platform.

Planned next steps are consulting members of the diaspora, choosing the final name and looking for partners. Each step will be added here, with its date.

Limits of this paper

The paper relies on public sources consulted on 30 October 2026.
Remittance figures exclude informal channels and vary sharply from year to year.
The proposals still need to be discussed with the institutions concerned and with the diaspora.

Sources

Pages consulted on October 30, 2026.