DRC drafting $1.5B digital transformation blueprint

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has begun working on a mega money blueprint which is aimed at speeding up the country’s digital transformation journey.

A process to draft the strategy was launched recently by the country’s Digital Economy Minister Augustin Kibassa Maliba during a ceremony in Kinshasa. This came at the end of a restitution workshop that explored the relevance of the initiative.

The plan outlines a path which the country intends to walk to become a digital hub on the continent in the next five years (2030), a post on the Digital Economy Ministry’s Facebook page noted.

Launched alongside the drafting of the plan was the DRC’s first National Artificial Intelligence Strategy which envisages the setting up of an AI academy to drive innovation and harness talent that will be useful for the digital economy.

Two commissions have been put in place to work on the two documents.

Dubbed the 2026-2030 National Digital Plan (PNN2), the strategy will help the country build solid digital public infrastructure (DPI) to facilitate access to public and private sector services.

Per the minister, the new plan will stand on four major pillars, namely infrastructure and connectivity, digital platforms and digital services, human capital development and digital inclusion, and cybersecurity and digital trust. It also prioritizes other important aspects such as digital entrepreneurship, innovation, digital sovereignty and strategic partnerships.

According to Maliba, the PNN2 comes after the 2020–2025 National Digital Plan whose implementation reached about 60 percent. It also falls in line with the DRC Digital Nation 2030 initiative which President Felix Tshisekedi unveiled in New York last month on the margins of the 80th United Nations General Assembly.

Maliba described the new plan which is still in the works as being capable of “capturing the dividends of the digital economy and positioning our country, rich in critical minerals essential to both digital and energy transitions, as a catalyst for investment and a provider of solutions to the major challenges of our time.”

Speaking about the AI economy, the minister stated that it will help in building human capital. “It will serve as a high-level training center, an innovation incubator, and a hub for applied research, where national experts, young talents, public institutions, and international partners will converge,” he mentioned.

The minister underscored the fact that the implementation of this roadmap must lead the country into a true digital economy “capable of energizing all sectors, agriculture, industry, commerce, health, education, transport, and many others.”

Of the $1.5 billion estimated budget for the plan, one billion will be mobilized by the country’s treasury, while $500 million will be obtained from external sources and partners.

Already, the DRC is witnessing the rollout of one component of its DPI. The DRC Pass digital ID is being implemented by Singaporean firm Trident and the objective is to streamline access to government services in several domains.

According to a GSMA report on DRC’s digital transformation, increasing digitalization of the public and private sectors will improve productivity and support investment, and the telecoms industry is cited as a key player in that process.

Article Topics

Africa  |  Democratic Republic of Congo  |  digital economy  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure