• Airtel DRC joins national digital training, offers free internet
• Program targets 250,000 youths with key digital skills training
• Aims to reduce data costs, tackle high youth unemployment

Airtel DRC announced on Saturday, Oct. 11, that it has joined the National Digital Training Program, a partnership launched last September between the government and U.S. technology firms Cisco and Cybastion. The mobile operator will provide free internet access for the program’s 250,000 participants.

“Airtel DRC will provide free access to educational content for all training modules through its network, set up a fully equipped room for instructor training, and create internship, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities for outstanding young participants,” the company said in a post on social media.

The partnership aims to tackle the high cost of mobile data, which the GSMA cites as one of the main barriers to internet adoption in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), mobile internet spending in the DRC accounted for 9.09% of gross national income per capita in 2024, well above the ITU’s 2% affordability target. The organization also estimates that around 70% of Congolese did not use the internet in 2023.

Free internet access will allow participants to follow training modules in cybersecurity, data science, programming, operating systems, technical English, digital transformation, and entrepreneurship. Authorities view these skills as essential for future employment as digital transformation accelerates. The World Bank estimates that 230 million jobs will require digital skills by 2030.

The GSMA projects that the digital transformation of agriculture, which employs 55% of the local workforce, is expected to create an additional 1.7 million jobs by 2029. It also forecasts 300,000 new jobs in industry and 500,000 in services.

DRC authorities see the digital economy as a key driver of socio-economic development, job creation, and youth empowerment. A 2022 study by the Ministry of Planning found that people aged 15 to 29 account for 50.44% of the working-age population, but youth unemployment remains higher than among adults, at 2.5% versus 1.4%. Long-term unemployment affects about 61.8% of young people and 61.2% of adults. The same study estimated that the country will need to create roughly 9.6 million jobs by 2030 and nearly 35 million by 2050 to maintain stable employment levels.

Isaac K. Kassouwi