Democratic Republic of the Congo’s national digital plan – Horizon 2025

September 2019

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Strategies and Action Plans

The Plan National du Numérique – Horizon 2025 of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (RDC), published in September 2019, is an ambitious strategy aiming to transform the country through digital development.

The plan was initiated under the leadership of President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, with a clear vision: to make digital technology a lever for integration, good governance, economic growth, and social progress in the RDC. The strategy is built to respond to the country’s challenges, fragmented infrastructure, limited digital inclusion, outdated legal frameworks, and to seize the opportunities of the digital revolution.

Strategic pillars

The plan is structured around four strategic pillars:

  1. Infrastructures – expansion and modernisation of broadband, fiber optics, and data centers.
  2. Digital content – promoting national content creation, hosting, and safeguarding digital assets.
  3. Applications and services – extending e-government, financial technologies, and digital health.
  4. Governance and regulation – establishing legal frameworks, inter-regulation, and cybersecurity.

Main goals by 2025

  • Establish a coherent infrastructure network, including over 30,000 km of fiber optic backbone.
  • Create a National Digital Agency (ADN) and a National Digital Council (CNN) to coordinate implementation.
  • Launch a biometric identification system to register all citizens and improve service delivery.
  • Implement digital transformation of public administration, including health, education, finance, and security.
  • Foster a vibrant local digital industry, strengthen human capital, and stimulate innovation (AI, IoT, blockchain).
  • Strengthen cybersecurity and data protection mechanisms to mitigate risks of digital threats.
  • Promote digital inclusion and access in all 26 provinces through participatory planning and decentralisation.

Methodology

The plan was developed through a participatory and inclusive approach:

  • More than 250 experts and stakeholders collaborated.
  • Consultations spanned all provinces and included civil society, government, private sector, and academia.
  • International benchmarking was used to inform strategic choices.
  • A multi-stakeholder task force and “focus groups” on each pillar contributed to the drafting.

Implementation and monitoring

The plan includes:

  • A national roadmap with prioritised actions, key indicators, and timelines.
  • Coordination through dedicated institutions (ADN, CNN).
  • Emphasis on public-private partnerships (PPP) and capacity building.
  • Regular reviews, reporting mechanisms, and integration with the broader National Strategic Development Plan (PNSD).

Challenges

The plan identifies several barriers:

  • Low broadband penetration and energy supply constraints.
  • Fragmented public IT systems and lack of interconnectivity.
  • Inadequate legal instruments for digital governance.
  • Socioeconomic disparities and regional imbalances in access.