Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo are stepping up cooperation in education and development planning as both countries seek to better align their education systems with labor market needs and address growing youth employment challenges.
The new collaboration reflects a shared recognition that expanding access to education alone is no longer enough. For both countries, the bigger challenge now is ensuring that young people leave school with the skills needed to find meaningful work in economies where unemployment, informality and demographic pressure remain major concerns.
The cooperation initiative was launched during a visit by a Congolese delegation led by Minister of State Guylain Nyembo Mbwizya, who met with Côte d’Ivoire’s education authorities, including Minister N’Guessan Koffi, according to a statement issued by Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Education on March 31, 2026.
At the heart of the discussions was the issue of skills mismatch—the gap between what education systems produce and what labor markets actually demand.
For many African economies, that gap has become more visible as youth populations continue to expand while formal job creation remains relatively weak.
Côte d’Ivoire used the meeting to present elements of its strategy for making education more employment-focused.
Officials outlined recent reforms and shared data on demographic trends, school participation and policy priorities for the 2024–2025 academic year. They also highlighted efforts to improve school infrastructure and strengthen technical and vocational education and training, seen as a key route to improving employability.
Among the targeted initiatives discussed were the Académie des Talents and the École de la Deuxième Chance, programmes designed to better prepare young people for the job market and support those who have dropped out of traditional education pathways.
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For Côte d’Ivoire, the focus is increasingly on improving the transition from school to work in a labor market where opportunities remain limited and informal employment continues to dominate.
The DRC, on the other hand, is still heavily focused on expanding access to basic services, including education.
During the discussions, Nyembo Mbwizya outlined a government programme aimed at covering all 145 territories of the country through the construction of schools and health centres. According to the World Bank, the initiative is intended to reduce inequalities between urban and rural areas and improve access to social infrastructure in underserved communities.
But both countries acknowledged that the challenge goes beyond simply building more schools.
The talks also highlighted broader structural issues that affect education outcomes, including nutrition, mental health, and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in public policy design.
The Congolese minister stressed that these issues must be integrated into education planning if systems are to produce better outcomes. That concern is consistent with findings from UNICEF, which has repeatedly linked child malnutrition to weaker school performance and poorer long-term learning outcomes.
Financing and governance also featured prominently in the discussions.
Officials examined how education projects are funded, how implementation can be improved, and how both countries can strengthen the effectiveness of public investment in human capital development.
There was also a strong emphasis on the role of student mobility, data systems and statistical tools in improving planning and policymaking.
The partnership comes at a time when labor market pressures remain acute in both countries.
In Côte d’Ivoire, World Bank data show that youth unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 fell from 9.7 percent in 2012 to 4.3 percent in 2022. However, government data also indicate that nearly 90 percent of jobs remain in the informal sector, limiting income security and career progression for many young people.
In the DRC, youth unemployment was estimated at 7.95 percent in 2024, nearly double Côte d’Ivoire’s level. Employment conditions are similarly fragile, with around 84 percent of jobs concentrated in the informal economy.
Access to education also remains uneven.
Côte d’Ivoire recorded a gross primary school enrollment rate of 96.6 percent in 2023, but only 49.8 percent of children of secondary school age were enrolled. In the DRC, UNICEF reported that 18 percent of children aged 5 to 17 were out of school in 2025, with nearly 1.4 million children unable to attend because of conflict-related school closures.
By strengthening cooperation, Abidjan and Kinshasa are responding to a common policy challenge: building education systems that do not just increase enrollment, but also prepare young people for productive participation in a changing economy.
