LocationsUNDP Democratic Republic of Congo Accelerator Lab
We are rethinking structural transformation of the economy for the reduction of poverty and inequalities.
For the year 2021-2022, the focus of the UNDP DRC Accelerator Lab is on the second priority of the Country Programme Document which is focused on "economic transformation." Our work is tailored around three pillars:
- Mapping, exploration and experimentation of innovative local solutions that can add value to our Country Office’s efforts in its work around the structural transformation of the economy and the reduction of poverty and inequalities (diversification, social inclusion, and creation of decent jobs for youth and women).
- Promoting and catalyzing start-ups and innovative initiatives of young people and women, and supporting the development of youth entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized enterprises / industries (SMEs / SMIs).
- Leveraging experiments’ data, learnings and insights from the Congolese entrepreneurial and technological ecosystems to contribute to strategic thinking for programmatic orientations and / or the implementation of policies with potential to accelerate sustainable human development in DRC.
Our learnings
Our partners
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our strategic partners:
- Ministry of research and technological innovation: partner in our journey towards giving DRC its first national innovation strategy.
- UNICEF DRC & Ingenious City: our partner in the process of designing, experimenting and implementing the first Congolese mobile and web application that digitalizes statistical data of children in DRC.
- Incubateur Un Jour Nouveau: partner in the experimentation geared towards a "grouped incubation and experimentation of innovative local solutions in the Eastern DRC.
- Ministry of people with disabilities: partner in our learning cycle on the active participation of people with disabilities in a co-creation process called "Inclusiveness Hackathon".
- CONGOLESE SENATE: We are working with them in a "UNDP-SENAT partnership for institutional, human, digital and legal capacity building". The DRC AccLab has the lead on the digitalization process [and capacity building] of the Senate.
- Incubateur Kivu Tech: together with this business incubator, we are running an experiment on transformation of plastic waste into pavers can generate employment while also contributing to the sanitation of the city of Bukavu. This experiment will have the merit of examining the potential that this value chain can have in stimulating economic growth, creating decent jobs for young people (SDG 8)”, and reducing poverty (SDG 1) in DRC.
- The Country office's pillar on “Consolidation of Peace and Democracy” organized, in collaboration with the DRC Accelerator Lab and the Superior Council of Magistracy, an experiment with digital tools designed to improve the career of magistrates and judicial activities in DRC. These tools have been deployed in a few pilot jurisdictions and offices with the aim of testing them and learning lessons before scaling up. These are particularly the following tools:
- The Judicial Activities Management Information System (SIGAJ) in offices and courts.
- The magistrates' management information system (SIGM) for the management of staff at the level of the Superior Council of Magistracy.
- The Nut Management Information System (EMIS) in penitentiary establishments, with a mobile application for the transmission of statistical reports at the national level.