DR Congo Startups to Get Grants Under a World Bank Project
DR Congo · Technology
Key Facts
- The country — The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of Africa’s largest countries by area, with roughly 100 million people and huge mineral wealth. It is also among the least connected to the internet.
- Where the money is — A national digital project is funded by a US$400 million World Bank credit and €100 million (about US$115 million) from France’s development agency AFD.
- Why now — The country launched the drafting of a 2026-2030 national digital plan in October 2025. Turning that money into grants for founders is the next step.
- What happened — On Friday 18 September 2026 in Kinshasa, two government project teams signed an agreement to prepare COPA Digital, a scheme to select, fund and mentor young tech firms and incubators.
- The numbers and names — The innovation component is worth US$45 million, and the World Bank targets 100 supported Congolese startups by December 2029. Noël Jean-David Litanga Sangu and Alexis Mangala Ngongo, who coordinate the two projects, signed.
- What it means for you — If you build or back a tech company in the country, a public funding route is being assembled. The first cycle is a pilot of about 16 months.
- Still open — Eligibility rules, grant sizes and the application date have not been set. The US$500 million project behind the scheme is far larger than the grant pot, and a separate US$1 billion belongs to the national plan.
A grant scheme for Congolese tech founders has cleared its first formal step. The US$500 million figure attached to it is the budget of a much larger digital project.
DR Congo startups are about to get a dedicated grant scheme. Its budget is far smaller than the US$500 million project behind it. Two government project teams in Kinshasa signed an agreement to prepare it on Friday 18 September 2026.
The scheme, called COPA Digital, will select, fund and mentor young tech firms, small digital companies and incubators. It is being built with World Bank money, in one of Africa’s largest and least connected countries.
What was signed in Kinshasa
The agreement links two units that manage World Bank-financed programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. One runs the Digital Transformation Project, known by its French initials PTN.
The other runs TRANSFORME, a programme for small businesses and women entrepreneurs. Its staff already organise a national business-plan competition.
Noël Jean-David Litanga Sangu, the PTN coordinator, signed for his project, according to the Kinshasa business outlet Zoom Eco. Alexis Mangala Ngongo, national coordinator of TRANSFORME, signed for his.
Two World Bank specialists attended the ceremony. Zouhour Karray oversees TRANSFORME for the Bank, and Tata Dinyuy handles the PTN.
COPA Digital will first run on TRANSFORME’s existing application platform before building its own system, Zoom Eco reported. Cross-checks between the two teams are meant to stop any firm being funded twice.
The first cycle is a pilot of about 16 months from its actual start. No launch date has been announced.
Where the US$500 million figure comes from
The US$500 million often linked to COPA Digital is the financing of the entire PTN, not a startup fund.
The World Bank’s board approved the project on 27 June 2024, and it is due to close at the end of 2029. It is part of a regional programme for digital inclusion in eastern and southern Africa.
It rests on a US$400 million credit from the International Development Association, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries. The French Development Agency, known as AFD, adds €100 million (about US$115 million).
That conversion uses the European Central Bank reference rate of 1.149 dollars per euro on 21 September 2026. Together, these two lenders provide about US$515 million.
Most of the money is for broadband, with the connectivity component costed at US$385 million.
How much is really for startups
Innovation sits in the project’s third component, which covers advanced digital skills and support for young tech firms. The World Bank’s implementation report puts its total cost at US$45 million.
Of that, US$35.3 million is International Development Association money, according to a World Bank project appraisal summary dated February 2025. It lists “grant financing for tech entrepreneurs” alongside innovation centres on university campuses.
The Bank’s own targets are modest. By December 2029 it aims for 100 digital startups receiving project support, 30 of them led by women, plus 10 innovation centres.
What TRANSFORME brings to the table
TRANSFORME is a separate US$300 million World Bank project, approved on 2 May 2022. It was designed to empower women entrepreneurs and upgrade micro, small and medium enterprises.
Its best-known tool is COPA, short for the French “concours de plans d’affaires”, or business-plan competition. The window for established firms offers matching grants of up to US$200,000 each from a US$45 million pot. In a matching grant, the firm adds its own money. In a matching grant, the firm adds its own money.
That competition aims to reach up to 750 companies, with priority for women-owned firms, according to the project’s website. In February 2026 it celebrated 71 selected firms in Bunia, in north-eastern Congo.
COPA Digital borrows that model for tech companies. The PTN supplies the money, and TRANSFORME supplies a selection process it has already tested.
The bigger round numbers
The government has also set out a larger figure. In October 2025, digital economy minister Augustin Kibassa Maliba launched work on a National Digital Plan for 2026 to 2030.
The government plans US$1 billion in public funds over five years, plus US$500 million already secured from partners. The business news site Bankable reported the plan. That partner share matches the size of the World Bank and AFD package.
It is a spending ambition for the whole sector, not money released for startups.
In February 2026, Kibassa chaired a meeting with World Bank and AFD delegations as the PTN entered its operational phase. That same US$500 million package was then described as focused on networks and online public services.
What founders should watch next
Congo’s startup scene is clustered in Kinshasa, Goma and Lubumbashi, according to a 2021 World Bank assessment. The tech news site WeAreTech Africa cited it. Access to venture capital remains a major constraint.
The next milestone is the call for applications. Eligibility rules, beneficiary categories, the calendar and grant amounts must still be validated before it opens, WeAreTech Africa reported.
Until then, DR Congo startups hold a promise of grants rather than a cheque. The pot that matters to them is counted in tens of millions of dollars, not hundreds.
More: Africa coverage, every day from The Rio Times.
What is COPA Digital?
COPA Digital is a planned grant and mentoring scheme for tech startups, small digital companies and incubators in DR Congo. It sits inside the Digital Transformation Project, which the World Bank helps finance. The units running that project and the TRANSFORME small-business programme signed an agreement to prepare it on 18 September 2026 in Kinshasa.
Is there really US$500 million for DR Congo startups?
No. About US$500 million is the total financing of the whole Digital Transformation Project. It combines a US$400 million World Bank credit with €100 million (about US$115 million) from France’s development agency, AFD. Most of it pays for broadband. The component for digital skills and innovation, which includes grants for tech entrepreneurs, is costed at US$45 million.
When can founders apply?
No date has been announced. The eligibility criteria, beneficiary categories, calendar and grant amounts still have to be validated before a call for applications opens. The first cycle is planned as a pilot lasting about 16 months from its actual start.
Sources: Zoom Eco on the 18 September signing, WeAreTech Africa on COPA Digital, World Bank project page for the DRC Digital Transformation Project, World Bank factsheet on IDA and AFD financing, World Bank implementation report with component costs and targets, World Bank project appraisal summary of February 2025, World Bank on the TRANSFORME project, TRANSFORME on its SME grant competition, Bankable on the 2026-2030 digital plan, Afrique IT News on the February 2026 meeting, European Central Bank euro reference rates
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