Congo can now boost its growth with the IT and communications sector. Indeed, on May 2, 2019, the national strategy for the development of a digital economy was approved during a ministerial council. Soon, the related decree will be promulgated.
According to Léon Juste Ibombo, the minister of posts, telecommunications and digital economy, the strategy defines Congo’s digital vision till 2025. It focuses on three sections namely E-citizenship, E-government and E-business.
Read more: Congo approves national strategy for the development of a digital economy
Apart from the office of the Prime Minister (Primature), the Presidency, the Senate and a few ministries that have websites, most of the government ministries are nowhere to be found online, and only a lucky Google research can show that a certain ministry exists in the country.
Read more: CD: Most DRC government ministries still have no websites
The Kinshasa IXP (KINIX) was funded through the Internet Society’s Community Grants Programme and managed by the DRC ISP Association (ISPA-DRC), as part of its DRC-IX project, which aims to establish IXPs in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and Goma.
The agreement was announced on Friday in Brazzaville, after a meeting between Thierry Moungalla and Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Congolese and Rwandan Ministers in charge of ICT respectively.
The Rwandan Minister highlighted the efforts made by his country in the past 15 years to connect to the world through fiber optic technology.
Mobile phones are performing a key role in enhancing transparency and accountability. Mobile penetration in the DRC is increasing rapidly, from 16% to 47% in 2013. In addition, 55% of the country’s population resides in areas currently covered by mobile networks, including most rural areas from the eastern province of South Kivu.
Read more: Mobile-Enhanced Participatory Budgeting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo