WASHINGTON, April 28, 2026-The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved $250 million in financing for the Kinshasa Urban Transformation and Jobs Program - known as Kin la Belle - to improve solid waste management services and create inclusive employment opportunities in Kinshasa.
The program is a cornerstone of the World Bank Group's comprehensive support package for the capital, which now totals nearly $900 million in active financing across three complementary operations addressing the city's most pressing urban and development challenges.
Kinshasa is one of Africa's fastest-growing megacities, home to more than 17 million people and on track to become the continent's largest city by 2030. Yet, its rapid expansion has outpaced the development of basic urban services. The city generates approximately 12,000 tonnes of waste each day, 98% of which is openly dumped or burnt. Uncollected waste clogs drainage channels, amplifying flood risks and spreading disease in densely populated, low-income neighborhoods. At the same time, youth unemployment remains critically high, underscoring the urgent need to create more and better jobs.
The newly approved Kinshasa Urban Transformation and Jobs (Kin La Belle) progra m will tackle these challenges by transforming Kinshasa into a clean, connected, and competitive city. Phase 1, financed with a $250 million International Development Association (IDA) credit, is structured around a three-pronged approach:
- A clean Kinshasa through a functional solid waste management system: Phase one will develop key infrastructure - collection points, transfer stations, and an integrated waste management center - in selected communes, establishing a functional model that can be scaled citywide. It will also strengthen the institutional and regulatory framework governing the sector. To ensure long-term sustainability, the program will support public-private partnerships designed to attract durable private investment in solid waste management.
- Connecting People to Space and Opportunities: Phase one will also prepare for future investments to increase access to economic opportunities and riverfronts across the city. It focuses on establishing technical and investment readiness for waterfront redevelopment and transport services along the Congo River.
- Competitiveness for inclusive jobs and economic growth: The first phase will create inclusive employment opportunities, particularly for women and youth, through labor-intensive public works and support to micro and small enterprises throughout the waste value chain. It will also create a pool of skilled workers and entrepreneurs capable of sustaining inclusive growth and advancing circular-economy objectives.
"Kinshasa is precisely where the World Bank's global experience in urban development can make the greatest difference - and the impact will be concrete: cleaner streets, fewer floods, and real jobs for the young Congolese who represent this city's future. This is what our long-term commitment to a prosperous and livable DRC looks like in practice," said Albert Zeufack, World Bank Division Director for Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
The Kinshasa Urban Transformation and Jobs program is the latest addition to the World Bank's comprehensive support to Kinshasa, together with Kin Elenda, the multisector development and urban resilience project approved in 2021, and PRIUR, the urban flood resilience project approved in 2025 that also targets Kalemie. These three programs form a coordinated, mutually reinforcing package addressing Kinshasa's most pressing urban challenges: urban, water and electricity infrastructure, flood resilience, and solid waste management and jobs. All three share the same overarching goal - a Kinshasa that is cleaner, safer, more resilient, and more prosperous for its 17 million residents.
