• First group of 500 trainees begins “train-the-trainer” program in Kinshasa
• 200 top performers will be selected to train others nationwide
• Five-year deal with Cisco and Cybastion targets jobs in tech fields

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Monday, February 16, that it has completed the first phase of a train-the-trainer program in Kinshasa, part of a national plan to equip 250,000 young Congolese with digital skills. The next step is to roll out the project across the provinces.

On February 13, 2026, the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education had outlined how the program would work. Five hundred young people have started a hybrid training course. After a final test, 200 of the best performers will be selected and grouped into three levels — Basic, Intermediate and Advanced — to become trainers and pass on their skills nationwide.

In September 2025, the Congolese government signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. companies Cisco and Cybastion to run the program over five years. Participants will be trained in networking and cybersecurity, data science, programming and operating systems, technical English, digital transformation and entrepreneurship.

Beyond training, the ministry said Cisco and Cybastion will help connect young graduates to their networks of local partners, creating job and business opportunities.

The train-the-trainer phase marks the real start of a broader effort to prepare Congolese youth for digital careers. Authorities see digital technology as a key driver of economic and social development, and as a way to create jobs and empower young people in a country where employment remains a major concern.

A 2022 study by the Ministry of Planning shows that people aged 15 to 29 make up 50.44% of the working-age population. Their unemployment rate, at 2.5%, is higher than that of adults at 1.4%. Long-term unemployment affects 61.8% of young people, compared with 61.2% of adults.

The study estimates that to stabilize unemployment and labor force participation, the country will need to create about 9.6 million jobs between 2022 and 2030, and nearly 35 million by 2050.

Isaac K. Kassouwi