Democratic Republic of the Congo launches youth employment and SME reforms

Government ministers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have outlined new strategies to improve youth employment and entrepreneurship.

Minister of Employment and Labor Ferdinand Massamba Wa Massamba announced the digitalization of the National Employment Office (ONEM) to increase accessibility. Through the ONEM platform and the Mikuba mobile application, job seekers can now view opportunities, submit CVs, and receive responses online. Additionally, ONEM offices are being established across all 145 territories, and a new decree requires job offers to be processed through ONEM to better structure the labor market.

Meanwhile, Minister of Entrepreneurship and SME Development Justin Kalumba Mwana Ngongo introduced a ‘three Cs’ strategy—capacitation, credit, and contract—to transform youth from job seekers into job creators. This initiative focuses on entrepreneurship training through incubation and coaching, providing financial guarantees via FOGEC to help entrepreneurs access bank credit, and ensuring access to markets. The strategy includes leveraging the ARSP to integrate Congolese companies into subcontracting chains and enforcing a policy that reserves up to 40% of public contracts for Congolese SMEs.